Code Authority
by Dantegrey
Summary: Zero requiem was a success...for ten years. Obligued by the same gods he saved, to witness how all what he loved crumpled appart, Lelouch is trapped forever in an eternal nightmare. But Pandora never forgets her children, and she will set things right, with the help of one of her best sons. Its time that Lelouch Vi Brittannia, the Campione, the Black King, restore the balance.
1. Prologue

Blood and Pain.

That was the coin, Lelouch Vi Britannia had to pay for his crimes and to create the world his sister Nunnaly wanted, a kind world, a world were all of them could live with a smile, the price of such Utopia was none other than to create a monster so big, that the world would cower at his mere presence.

The Demon Emperor Lelouch, was exactly what the doctor recommended.

Of course, the public and spectacular assassination of such Emperor was in the script too, that his best friend Suzaku will kill him in front of the cameras of all the world, dressed and acting like the same legend Lelouch created in the first place.

Zero, the masked knight of Justice, the leader of the Black Knights and the worlds Hero.

It was so tragic that it was not even funny.

He has to die at the hands of his best friend, masked for the rest of his life under the same disguise Lelouch used to finally vanquish Britannia and unite the world under the banner of the Black knights.

That was Zero requiem in a handful of words.

All will hate Lelouch.

He will act as the monster everyone thought he was.

Zero will kill him, in front of all the world.

All crimes and hate will be blamed on him.

The gentle world of Nunnaly could commence.

Only a crazy bastard like Lelouch would be able to pull that out of his hat and what was best, make it work.

Oh, of course he had his doubts, specially when he discovered that his sister, Nunnaly had recovered her sight and was showing the iron Lelouch always know she had on her soul. She was worthy of being the Empress, more than Schneizel or any other of their brothers and sisters, except perhaps Cornelia or Euphy. To be honest, Lelouch always thought that the majority of the Imperial Family was nothing but a waste of space.

Euphemia, that was a bleeding wound in the heart of Lelouch, no matter how much time has pass and how much he has suffered for what he has done to one of few really pure souls in this rotten world created by the Britannian Empire. One just ponders if the poor bastard of Pendragon had all this shit in mind when he created the Empire, but alas, everything decays, everything corrupts and its needed a revolution to get things straight to the right path.

Lelouch was that fire, he accepted that role gladly but as all fires, the closer you get, the worst burn you get, and Lelouch hate and anger was a raging sun that burned everything in his path, despite his real intentions; the words of Kirihara Taizo were the truth.

He walked the path of Carnage, his way was covered with the blood, flesh and bones of his enemies and for Lelouch eternal regret, the blood, flesh and bones of some of his dearest friends. Lelouch had a shit ton of things to atone, oh, yes, he had a shit ton of sins burdening his soul, and to be completely honest, he just waited patiently when his eyes closed, when death reclaimed him, that if there is truly existed a hell of some kind, they will have and entire burning theme park just for him.

He deserved it, no fucking doubt about it, he deserved it by far...

His soul remembered the day of the epilogue of his actions, the day of the Zero Requiem, the day he planned his own assassination at the hands of his best friend, the one that he forever branded with a Geass damming to him to "Live on" no matter what he wanted and to be forever engraved with the mask of Zero.

The parade was the most disgusting thing he has ever done, all his friend and allies, people that bleed and suffer along him, show to the populace as they were nothing but pets, chained and beaten into metal poles. Even Nunnaly was chained to the floor of the rolling throne and execution platform, all in one, chained like a slave to the feet of his own brother.

Dear God, how nauseous he felt during all that charade.

One could argue that all of them betrayed him, when the battle for Japan was in their climax and Zero was ready for make his appearance, they ambushed him in the Knightframe hangar, gun pointing and accusations flying; all orchestrated by Schneizel, Lelouchs "dearest" big brother.

Ironically, they paid him with his own coin, he has used, slaved, forced and blackmailed a lot of people into servitude, by geass or words or just acting like the miracle worker they needed in their time of crisis. However, he had never done anything like that to any of them, none of the Black Knights was forced to do anything under geass coercion.

And Kallen, sweet, fierce and wonderful Kallen, his queen, his best pilot, one of the most fascinating beings he has ever meet, she defended him, but the charade was over and Lelouch, once more paid the price of his own greed, ambition and evilness.

He should have known better, the fruits of the devil tree will be evil, no matter what our true intentions are. For an hour, he paraded in the middle of the biggest avenue in Tokyo, showing to the people, the people that feared and hated him, with good reasons, the same people he has free to just slave them again, this time to him.

99th Emperor of Britannia.

Fuck that title, he hated it with a passion.

When the parade was on the move, he knew about the witness in the nearby building, in fact he was the one that has orchestrated their presence.

Poor Cornelia, she was a mother hen, she was a wonderful woman, she was the goddess of victory but she was horrible, at the Game of Thrones that Schneizel and him were playing, the one that ended in his coronation as the supreme ruler of earth.

She should have look out for geass scars in the brain tissue of her spies or to double check why that brunette spy was so familiar to her...Sayoko was the best Kunoichi in the fucking world, but at that point that was irrelevant, he wanted them there, he need them to pick up his legacy and make it right.

The worst hour of Lelouchs life, chain his most trusted allies and friends, his own little sister and parade them all over the city, flaunting his power. He had to discretely take some pills before the event, so he will not throw up his soul at the sight of the platform and throne.

The hateful and sorrowed glares of all of them were like daggers at his heart, but alas, it was too late, the last melody, the Requiem, has begun and he will play his role to the last note without a hitch.

That was the last he can do after all the suffering and pain that he has caused to the world and to the people who was dearest to him. Still, he couldn't even glare in the direction of Nunnaly, to see his sister like that and to know that HE was the one that has chained like a pet and dress her with a rag red dress like some slave was too much for Lelouch, oh, he really hoped Hell had a roller coaster of pain waiting for him, just for this shit.

With a smug smile in his face and always protected by Jeremiah Gottwald, the Knight of Orange, Lelouch take a seat in the throne and ordered his geassed troops to start this horrendous show of arrogance and tyranny.

Jeremiah, he really didn't deserve the loyalty of the man, and much less after the hell he put him into, completely destroying his career, almost destroying his mind, slowly making him go crazy thanks to the influence of the geass and finally becoming a living experiment for the order with a geass canceller in his right eye.

And then, he learn that Jeremiah has been always looking for Nunnaly and him, that he was loyal to the fault to his mother, that crazy bitch, and that he wanted to atone himself for not being able to protect none of them during the abominations that took place in Aries Villa.

The most loyal of the knights and Lelouch almost destroyed him with his own hands.

Another nick to the side of the rifle. Lelouch, fucking great boyo, what's next, uh?, kicking puppies?, assaulting old ladies?.

The Longest hour in his life.

One by one they resigned to their fate, knowing that no miracle will save them this time, Zero was sitting in the throne of a madman, and there will not be a last second miracle.

Chigusa, Stubbornness made woman, never let his hate left her eyes looking at him.

Ohgi, the kind professor turn rebel and future father of Villetas children, oh, Lelouch know, and he has already detested himself more than enough for what he done to the couple; even if both of them had their own share of sins to carry.

Kaguya, the last of the six families, a brilliant girl whose energy and antics had always brightened Lelouchs day.

Tamaki, loud mouth, noisy and scandalous Tamaki but loyal to the fault; it was like kicking a puppy, a loud puppy but a puppy nonetheless.

Xingke, how, in the name of sanity could he still stand despite his sickness was something that amazed Lelouch to no end, Lelouch allow him to save his love, Tianzi, and then he put him in chains.

Todoh, his old sensei, a master of war who Lelouch has betrayed and burn his most sacred principles in front of his face.

Kallen...he didn't even want to look at her, her red haired ace, the strongest queen he could ever pray for, good God, he couldn't even look at her without being about to thrown up for what he has done to the beautiful girl.

In the end, you were right C.C, The power of the Kings is a way of solitude.

By the heavens, did he felt lonely then...not lonely, but utterly disgusted and nauseated with himself.

Behold what your hate has brought to you Lelouch Vi Britannia, see what your underhanded tricks, your hate and your manipulations has brought to you.

Well, at last he would die, impaled by a sword, leaving a world that would carve for the peace and kindness Nunnaly could provide them in spades, and in the case that some fucker wanted to say something, Suzaku, or better said Zero, will kick his or her ass ten ways to Sunday.

His last hour on earth was so full of regrets and recriminations, that Lelouch surprised himself that he didn't break and just cry his soul out for what he has done.

But the play must continue to the bitter end, the sweet release of death was not what he deserved, but was the only way on what the kind world of Nunnaly could start.

His dammed blood was a little price, enough blood has he spilled already.

In all honesty, seeing Zero was the best fucking thing that could have happened to him at that moment, no matter if it means that he was about to be slain, in fact, the drugs were starting to lose his effect and he was starting to feel like the shit he knows he was.

However, it was hilarious to see the faces of all the people around at the presence of the purple dressed Zero standing in the middle of the road. Still, he had to remember to put a face of horror and surprise at the image, so he will not cry on relief for the end of this travesty of victory parade that was costing the little sanity remain that he had.

Lelouch remembered to shout inside of his mind to Suzuky for being a moron and appearing in a fashionably late time. That was one of the oddest moments in his life, to be glad to see the one that was about to put a sword through his chest and welcome it with joy. Damn twisted world, well, Nunnaly will set it rights, he has made sure of it, oh, hell yes, he has made sure of it.

The knightmares acting as escort, open fire to the lone figure and Lelouch found himself blinking in amazement to the speed and skill of Suzaku, who was dodging bullets as he runs in a zig zag pattern, covering hundreds of meters in seconds.

Wow...he really was an exercise nut job, but now Lelouch was starting to see that he should have build some more muscles, it sure would have come handy at some times, specially all that hunt the cat debacle that had almost unmasked him at the beginning of the rebellion.

Arthur the cat, was more dangerous that any of his previous rivals combined, thrice dammed hellish spawn of a cat.

Suzaku was a purple blur, that pass under the legs of the knightmares before they could react to his speed and movement pattern, still there was too much security to dodge them all, and a few of them had their factspheres looking for the target that was Suzaku. Fortunately, Jeremiah saw this and with an order and a challenge for a duel, almost offered free pass to Suzaku, even after all the sadness and grief, Lelouch has caused the knight and knowing that he was helping the assassin of his lord, Jeremiah fulfilled his role without fault.

Lelouch could only pray for the knight to found happiness along Sayoko, it was a rumor that he listened by chance, that the ninja maid and the cyborg knight has kind of clicked, as both had a high sense of honor and were totally devoted to Lelouch.

Hope, when he was out of the question, they could finally have a shot at happiness, god knows they had it more than deserved.

Suzaku take the chance that Jeremiah was offering and run to the cyborg, that already had his wrist blade extended and ready to battle, however, "Zero" jumped and using Jeremiah shoulders as jumping point, jumped again, passing right over the edge of the platform, landing in front of a stunned and confused Nunnaly.

God lord Suzaku, remembered Lelouch to thought in that moment, anyone with half a brain and training in hand to hand combat would see that Jeremiah has just offer you a pull!, well, it didn't matter then, everybody was still stunned for the sudden appearance of the Knight of Justice.

"_Zero"_ jumped a second time and landed in front of Lelouch, who once again marveled of the strength and skill of his friend, and took good note, in the few seconds left of his life, that he should have exercise more, this displays of power and skill would have been a hide saver...useless now but he just wanted to focus in little things.

It was that or seeing the terrified face of Kallen or the confused and scared face of Nunnaly, yes, much better to focus on those things, ah, yes, he had to make it convincing, so he just pick up a little pistol from his white and golden cape and pointed it at Suzaku with some ridiculous threat forming in his lips.

What he really wanted to say was:

"_Hurry up, you moron, end this charade already, I can hold it no longer"._

The purple and baroque sword send the pistol flying in the air and with a flourish swipe, Suzaku pointed to tip to his chest and pull forward.

The time stop then for Lelouch.

Ok, he has been a coward and has taken some drugs that would lessen the pain of being skewered like a damn kebab but still, the damn thing hurt like a bitch, specially when it pierced right through his heart in a single and precise stab. Damn it hurts, not even a tenth of what it has pained him to chain Nunnaly to the platform but still, it hurt like a bitch.

Sweet, sweet pain that end all suffering and takes all the hate of the world with him.

Whispering, so only Suzaku could ear him, Lelouch pick a little of his own blood, red blood; to the hell with all that foolishness about blue blood; and trace his fingers over Suzaku mask of Zero.

"This is your punishment" said Lelouch, feeling surprisingly calm, despite the fact that he was dying " do you accept this geass?, this curse?".

"I accept it" there was a sad and sorrow tone in his voice and Lelouch was a bit surprise, there was the unmistakeable sound of a voice grip by tears.

Tears?, how come?, Suzaku has promised him that he will kill him no matter the cost at the end of the Zero Requiem, and now he was crying?, not the best timing pal, not the best timing at all.

Ouch, the sword plunged out of his chest and Lelouch cringed, that was worst, he barely registered how Suzaku swipe the purple and golden sword, tracing a line of Lelouch blood over the carpet of the throne.

He barely registered it, because he was very busy, painfully skidding all the way down the throne, leaving a very wide and fresh trail of blood all over the red carpet, pity, he always like tidy things, and the blood was so difficult to clean.

Sarcasm, Lelouch?, really?.

Well, no matter, he could finally go now, he has done it, Zero Requiem was complete and now, the new era could begin.

Ah, Nunnaly, the sweet and lovely Nunnaly, the angel he has left on earth, the sister he was going to abandon in the name of his own stupidity, one of his multiple and very long list of sins and idiocies that he has done in his so called glorious revolution.

In hindsight, he has been a childish moron and the bigger genius of history, but that is irrelevant now; uh, who would have known?, there is a fine line between madness and genius.

"Brother?" whispered Nunnaly taking his hand and with the last strength of a dying Geass, Nunnaly could see in the eyes of his brother, the truth, what Zero requiem was and why.

"Brother, oh Brother, I love you, please don't leave me!" screamed Nunnaly.

Ah, so she has discovered it...

"I destroy the world...and make it...anew" whispered Lelouch with his last breath.

Lingering in the edges of his consciousness the soul rendering cries of her sister and the contained tears of Kallen and the few that really has discovered what was all of this about. He has to admit that they were the best wild bunch he could ever asked for leading a rebellion; even if at the end, he botched it badly with all of them.

99th Emperor Lelouch Vi Britannia was dead, killed by the Knight of Justice Zero, killed in his own victorious parade over his enemies, the Demon Emperor was dead.

Not a second too soon if Lelouch had a say in it.

Heaven, Hell or whatever the shit is waiting for the bastards like him, there he goes, it was about damn time...ah, so many regrets, so many complications, so many sins to atone in the after world, and if the after world result to be complete darkness, all for the better.

He was way tired of all, even his own stupidity, and a little and delicious nap will be more than welcome. He should have known better, there was a little flaw in his plans, something that he did not consider, something that was hidden in plain sight.

Geass has an expiring date.

At the beginning he didn't notice it, after all, he had a ton of things to do the second time he put the mask on, when C.C got his sorry ass out from the amnesia that fucker of father that he had, put him in.

It has taken several years, but Schneizel finally broke free from his Geass and turn his thrice dammed intellect back to square one, recreating FREYJA and starting a campaign of wars against the United Federation that Nunnaly as Empress of Britannia has created.

They fought, they indeed fought and bravely but Schneizel was out of their league, it has only Lelouch the one who has bested the blond heir of the throne of Britannia, whose strategies and mind was as brilliant as Lelouch but twice the ruthless.

In less that half a decade, Schneizel did rule over an empire that covered all the globe, ruling with peace and fear in equal measure, the world will obey him and if don't, they will perish in a pink explosion of devastating strength.

One that made the one that vaporized Pendragon, look like a firework.

Those who obey find themselves in a peaceful world, totally submitted to the rules and ethics of the Emperor and those who resist or dared to confront his mandate, soon found themselves in the wrong side of a firing squad.

Of course, those who had the power to oppose him, soon found themselves under the menace of having a FREYJA served directly at their houses, right at the head of their loved ones or in the middle of their most populated city. Oh, there do exist some resistance movements and terrorism but with Geass destroyed, Schneizel hunt every single geass user in existence to extermination and after he found C.C; he permanently froze her in a capsule in the middle of the reactor of his flagship, he made sure no one will ever awoke a Geass again.

Alas, the Schneizel Emperor did commit the same mistake that Lelouch at some point, he failed to ask himself a question, a very single and valid question.

Now, what?.

He ruled over a stagnant world, ruled by fear and a forced peace that only embittered all the living beings, forced to wear a leash they hate and what is worst, he had no heirs. Oh, yeah, same fucking mistake as Lelouch, he was so busy playing King of the World that he forgot that he was the last of a Dynasty, appart of Nunnaly and Cornelia that were hiding somewhere and whose children could call the right at the throne as soon as he kicks the bucket.

Schneizel was a very lonely man, who hides his miseries over his eternal and cocky smile and his genius level mind, he did try to find a queen, or even a blood damn mistress, but his court was full of flatterers and stupid nobles with half the brain of a concussed cow.

He planned to clone himself but at the end, he simply took C.C geass and became the immortal Emperor of Britannia. It was not until the second century of his mandate, that he realized that the immortality was not as cool as it appears to be, specially when everything and everyone that you did ever love was dead as dust and he was still alone in a throne build over fear and bitterness.

Such was the destiny of the Zero Requiem.

It was the best plan at the time, well, one can argue that, but the result, spoke for themselves, the world experimented a Utopia for a lot of years, however, the Utopia soon became the opposite and now, the Earth was a miserable ball of mud, fear and regret, waiting for the mercy of the swift death, anything was for the better, instead this long stagnation at the hands of an Emperor that has lost any hope in living but was incapable of end to it.

Not the best of the outcomes, in games, this would be called the Worst Ending.

It´s an ending, everything has to come to an end, all tales had a finale and for this Lelouch, this was his.

But one could think...

It is truly and end?.

Lets review that statement for a second.

No matter how static do you want to be, the earth keeps twirling, the seasons come and go, babies born, people die, plants grow..., the time is constant, even if you wanted to stop it or make it backwards.

Then, lets review that second statement.

Review backwards.

Any sane mind out there, will consider this an absolute stupidity, an impossibility, time is a river that only flow forward.

Yes and no.

You see, that could be true in other universes, but in this one, one where things called Geass granted superpowers to the people, Geass that allow immortals to build a sword capable of killing an existence that they did not understand at all; in this crazy and wonderful universe, impossible could be possible.

And there was a little loophole; well, make it two not so little loopholes.

First of all, god exists, call him subconscious, call it god, call it karma, Satan, Shiva or tax collectors, it matters not, the fact is that gods exist, forgotten and altered so they are barely recognizable but they exist.

Second, there was one purple eyed possessor of Geass, that prayed to them, that in a sense, slay them and force them to do their bidding, that, as irrational as that could appear to be, usurp their authority and use it to prevent a calamity and to start the steps that culminated of what one day will be called, Zero Requiem.

Start to see a pattern?.

Now, what was the pray of the boy with violent eyes full of tears?, what did the boy forced upon the gods, armed with a sliver of their own power?.

Ah, yes, you do start to see...

"Do not stop the time".

And, now the final clue about what is happening right now on earth, what is exactly, what Schneizel has done?.

Stagnant the world, in other words, stop the evolution, stop the progress, keep it forever locked under his own standards and desires.

Or better said, he stopped the time.

Geass has an expiring date, but gods memories are not that swallow, they own the boyo a big one, and despite they denied what should have been Lelouchs since that sorrowful day, now there was two very pissed off, very angered travelers in the C world; better called as the boundary between worlds, that screamed bloody vengeance for the idiocy that the gods of this realm has done to a kid that did something that no one has done since the foundations of the bleeding Albion.

After all, not everyday born a new Campione in the world.

And speaking of our little star of the show.

When Lelouch thought the things couldn't turn to the worst; he really should have thought better, after all, they were talking about Lelouch; he just awoke in the C world, unable to do anything but to witness how all what he loved and died for was devastated in front of his eyes.

He saw, with a smile in his face, how Nunnaly brings the world to an epoch of prosperity and peace, a world worth living for, however, and much for his horror, saw how Schneizel betrayed that same world and turn it into a demented nightmare, even more corrupt and stagnated that the Britannia that Lelouch burn to the ground.

He lost his mind from the suffering, he screamed and cried and cursed and lamented and regretted and so went the list on. Lelouch saw how all of those he called friends died at the hands of Schneizel troops, how only Nunnaly and Cornelia survived, hidden and protected for the few survivors of the Black Knight after the first betrayal of the Nobles and those who aligned themselves under the banner of Schneizel.

This was his worst nightmare made flesh, there was nothing worst that seen that all he has done was for nothing, all the sacrifices and the blood, all the suffering was for nothing, as all his plans, all the world of Nunnaly was swept off by the ambitions of an arrogant asshole who at the end just discovered that he was a lonely, goalless idiot with too much blood in his hands.

More or less what Lelouch discovered during the agonizing hour he suffered as he paraded down the main avenue of Tokyo, not much before Zero kill him for good.

In a very, strange, and painful way of things, it was almost amazing how both brothers were so similar, both genius, both so driven by their goals that at the end, they just found themselves alone and without anything to live for. Well, at last Lelouch was the one that was lucky enough to die, now Schneizel was the one divided by the thought of reaching a contractor and start all the madness again or keep living an eternal empty life.

However, for Lelouch this was the worst agonizing torture that he has suffered in all his life, the beating his own father give him in front of all the court was nothing but love taps, seeing Nunnaly blind and crippled was a walk from the park in compassion to see her die, old and consumed, broken and blind again, slowly and sadly crying in grief for the lives of those murdered in the name of Schneizel ambitions.

Oh, the irony of the situation did not scape him, how many times has done exactly the same?, how many times has he sacrificed good people to fuel his rage and hate, to fuel his vengeance against his mad parents?.

He saw Kallen die, he saw her amazonian red queen of the battlefield, falling in glorious combat against an impossible odds and yet laughing at them, he felt head over hells for her in that moment, how come he has never sawn this fierce queen before?.

Good job you idiot, now you have lost her, forever, excelsior pal.

That was just the beginning of the deaths, everyone of them left a bigger scar in the heart and soul of Lelouch.

Xingke, falling defending her beloved Tianzi against Schneizel, the sick swordsman showing a lesson in martial skills that will be forever remembered.

Todoh, Chigusa,Villeta, Jeremiah, Sayoko, for fuck sakes, even Tamaki felt in battle, with honor and against insurmountable odds, they fought for Nunnaly and she hated every death in her name, every single casualty of this bloody useless war.

Ohgi, ambushed and killed during a diplomatic event, Milly, Rivalz, executed for aiding the Black Knights, Nina, even the timid Nina, who despises him with passion, prefer to blow the hell up before serve Schneizel after seeing what the Emperor has done with her dearest friends.

Kaguya, brave, vibrant Kaguya, forever defiant in front of the reaper, smiling in defiance to the Knightmares that hunted her, playing a lethal game of tag for decades, making a fool of the emperor, and in the end, she got the last laugh, when she blew up the biggest sakuradite reserve of the Empire with a smile on her lips and a defiant shout of victory.

Only Cornelia and Guilford survived, she was pregnant at that time, a worthy lineage, a hope for the future...squashed when Schneizel made himself immortal.

He saw C.C finally get what she desired, she finally died when Schneizel stole her code, not contract, not pact, just forcefully stole her code, something way worst that rape her, he profaned her body and soul, destroying the immortal witch, leaving her to die alone in a gray cell.

Her last words almost broke Lelouch mind.

"I will finally reunite with you, my warlock".

Crying for the green haired witch, his best partner, his most trusted adviser, the voice of the reason that had pulled him out of his stupidity, time and time again, was dead.

Lelouch mind crumbled under the horror, this was his worst nightmare made flesh, and for his dear life, he could not understand, why in the bloody hell was he still conscious and witnessing such horrors, was this some kind of punishment?.

Then he was indeed punished, but one thing was to punish him, he deserved it, but these horrors, this terrific future was not just a punishment for him, it was punishment for all of he once called out friends and precious people. Oh, the regrets he felt, how he has isolated himself, hid in his fear and greed from the rest of the world, his hate, source of his strength and his most blatant weakness, has guided all his life, bringing the change but at the same time twisting a great future into a Distopic horror.

And it was all his fault.

The Geass on Schneizel was his, he was the one that allow the snake to live in the garden of Eden and now, as God experimented, the snake has ruined it all, and for what?, what was the objective of all this?, what good has come from all those deaths?.

Easy answer.

None. At. All.

Lelouch has made that same questions himself, about two thousand, four hundred and sixty-three_ millions_ times, but who´s counting?.

Ironically, now he would love to bitch slap Schneizel with that same question again, and again and again, until the immortal start trying to commit suicide in the most imaginative and original ways. After all he was a genius and an immortal, that sure ensures some odd and imaginative ways to die.

So, that's it Lelouch?, now you hide behind sarcasm and vengeance, that's all you have learned in your miserable life?.

See?.

Madness.

It comes and goes, honestly it was kind of relief, the form on where the mind prevents himself from collapsing by simply hide itself under wraps of irrationality and oddities.

Like speaking to himself and just berate himself again and again with his worst failures and regrets, just to be sure he didn't forget a single thing, that none of his screw ups ever left his mind, that was the last he can do, to never forget what has he done.

Now, after all the fall of the world he worked so hard to create, that list was so big, that even his prodigious mind was starting to feel a bit pressed just to keep up with all the shit listed on it; it was indeed a big list.

You see, something people forgot that a war is more than just a series of battles.

Lets take and example.

His little stunt with Guilford when he released his Black Knights in front of the Chinesse Embassy. A hundred of persons die that day. Soldiers die that day, oh sure, and they do die in battle, is their job and duty, it comes with the side letters of the contract. But those were not soldiers, those were civilians casualties. An entire sector raise, hundreds of meters of metallic surface went up and there was the civilians techs that he geassed and forced to kill his workmates and after activating the system, blow their heads up.

Shirley; sweet, airhead, kind, fun and lovely Shirley; show him what his actions cost when the landslide he provoked in Narita, killed the father of the girl who loved him deeply, and a year later, he did exactly the same, killing people like they were ants, they were logs in the blazing inferno of his vengeance and he didn't even think twice about the consequences, happily and proud on his arrogant wits that had won the day.

Without his friends and comrades, the rest of the world could have gone to hell for what he cared, C.C was the last to die, tortured permanently until Schneizel ravaged her body and soul and extract the code for her before leaving her old and wrecked body to die in darkness and solitude.

Nunnaly, his little sister, the one for whom he did all, cried alone in her cell; she had sacrificed herself so Cornelia and her family could scape and hide from the hands of Schneizel

Now, aged and tired, she just cried in sadness and for the first time in decades, whispered the name of his brother, one of the few men she has ever loved and who sacrifice himself so the world could reach a glorious era of peace and prosperity.

In the end, Britannian blood has been the one that has turned paradise into a living hell, and she could only saw it happen, she could only saw the world his brother give his life for, perish and consume in the wake of the ambitions of one, that in the past, has been her most loyal adviser and friend, another person that she called brother.

"I'm sorry, brother, I'm sorry Lelouch, I am not strong enough, I failed you".

Lelouch wanted to die, oh brother, he wanted to die, he just wanted to vanish, to finish all his existence, to end this torture. Crying as he has never cried before, Lelouch whispered back, speaking in rasp voice for all the shouting and crying he has been doing during all the horror show he has been forced to witness.

"It´s ok Nunnaly, you are going to be ok, I promise...".

"She is not going to be ok, and neither are you".

A new voice interrupted Lelouch and he just moved in the emptiness on where he was floating, to just fall face front into a gray floor of some kind.

Oh, physical pain, old friend, how I had missed you, you are ten thousands better than mental pain, believe me.

"We have to fix this, quickly, this could not end like this, you know?" keep saying the voice.

Grunting, Lelouch raise to see the one that had spoke to him, and when his eyes saw the figure, he slammed back into the floor, as his arms lose all strength they had, it was a surprise he could even move.

Massaging his sore face after the second stomping, he raises his face and just look to the owner of the voice. He blinked a pair of times. Ok, it was official, he was totally out of his mind.

Santa Claus was right in front of him.

Yeah, exactly, The fucking Santa Claus, and the old white bearded man was riding a ridiculous deer with a glowing red nose that seems as mortified as Lelouch.

"So, tell me boyo, What do you want for Christmas?"


	2. Chapter 1

Boundary between realms/C World.

Lelouch was still blinking in silence, this was so surreal that he was now sure that he has lost his mind, in fact that was good, he was no longer witnessing the horrors of his world, perhaps this will be the time, on where he could finally die and be at peace, has he not suffered enough?.

Ok, Santa Claus slapping his head back into the floor was not among his expectations of what was going to happen next.

"Stop brooding!" voiced loudly Santa Claus with a childish and feminine voice, despite appearing to be a eighty years old fat man with a red coat.

So far, everything had all the sense in the world; insert sarcasm enough to peel the paint of the walls in that statement; so a travesty Santa Claus was not out of the possibilities.

"I think you broke him, mother" spoke the deer and Lelouch just surrender, he was nuts, oh joy, finally, at last his mind has broken under the pressure.

"Magnus!" chided the Santa Claus, changing in front of the eyes of a stunned Lelouch into a tiny girl, with a pair of purple twin pigtail at both sides of her head and dress with a white toga " I wanted to play Santa for once!".

"Mother" sighed the deer, transforming himself into a reddish black haired and bearded giant man of eight feet whose body could give a run for her money to a Knightframe, dress like he was right out of the stage of a viking movie.

"You are no fun" pouted the girl, the mother of the giant, on a side note, Lelouch pondered that it had to be a very, very difficult childbirth for the poor tiny girl, err shapeshifter, whatever.

"You are hopeless, mother" sighed the giant with a tender smile, walking to Lelouch and offering him a hand " need a hand, lad?, so much time in that torture chamber must have fucked you up, badly".

At this point, Lelouch was beyond anything remotely sane, they are nightmares?, assassins of the C world?, gods?, bah, fuck it, he was tired and in all honesty, he was felling now into one of those moods called "I need a drink, better said a lot of heavy drinks" mood.

So, without really giving a damn, he offered the hand of the giant and when he took it, for the first time in all the time he has been inside the nightmare, Lelouch started to have coherent thoughts, like a mist was removed from his brain, his mind started to get clearer. Truly, the hate, the resentment, the guilty for all his actions was still there, but for the first time in forever, he could think about it and not just drown in his own muddle of misery.

"So, tell me lad" started the man raising him from the floor " what, in Yggrasil name, did you to piss of the gods of this realm so badly?".

Lelouch blinked, not to sure about if he even wanted to respond to this delirious of his own broken mind.

The tiny girl jumped and punched him right in the face, sending him back to the floor, damn the girl had a haymaker that would have made Cassius Clay go green of envy.

"Delirious?!, the nerve of him!" by his dear life, Lelouch swore that the pigtails of the purple girl were like cat ears, standing upright in offence and agitation.

"Mother, by Yggdrasil, stop hitting the boy, he is fucked enough right now" laughed the giant and then stomped in the floor with one of his boots and when the echo expanded, the reality changed.

Soon the three of them were standing in a wooden hall of gigantic proportions, sat along the sides of wood table, on where food and drinks where displayed, there was a soft music of drums and strings instruments played in the background, but there was no musician on sight.

"Ohh, food and booze!" smiled widely the purplenette before digging in the food like a lioness over her latest prey and Lelouch suddenly discovered that he was hungry as hell too.

They didn't even exchange a word before they jump at the food like that was the only thing in the world, dear god, it was utterly delicious, meat, fruits, beer, this golden thing that seems like beer but was not beer, everything was quickly swallowed with the swiftness of those that experimented true hunger. Another interesting change of pace, for the first time in forever, Lelouch was not suffering pain or mental scarring, but he was savouring good food and drinking fresh drinks, enjoying the taste of everything that falls in his avid hands and hungry mouth.

A feast to remember indeed, he should have done things like this when he was alive, to enjoy a good old feast with his friend; now that was leading to a dark path of recriminations and regret, that was soon cut short when a tankard slammed the wooden table near him, startling and alerting him.

With a voice equal to a thunder of a faraway storm, the one called Magnus smiled at Lelouch leaving the filled to the brim tankard near him.

"Perish those thoughts, lad" smiled the man and by some unknown reason, Lelouch felt safe, felt secure and among allies, the aura of a friend and an ally " the mead hall is no place for such dark thoughts".

Lelouch wanted to talk, but he couldn't explain it, he was safe in this "mead hall" as Magnus has put it, he was free from his own phantoms, at last for a short amount of time, his guilt was too big to just let it go.

"I...did horrible things" said Lelouch drinking from the tankard, as the drink slip past his throat and the liquid clear his hoarse throat, his voice became clearer and with a liver tone than before " I am responsible from the horrid state the world is, is my actions, the one that provoke the horrors of today".

Magnus sighed, drink his own tankard and without losing a beat said.

"Category five bullshit".

Lelouch almost choke on his drink, he coughed and face the giant with an astonished expression on his face.

"You screw up, big time" nodded " and I will not negate you that you could have done better, but believe me, you were out of your league since the beginning and in all, I have to admit you did a remarkable job".

Lelouch sputtered and angered, how he dared to dismiss his loses and tragedies like they were nothing, he was about to retort but then the weight of the world felt on his shoulders, he noticed how even his lungs tried to respite, how his brain was almost escaping from his skull, how his nervous system was crying for running, for running as far and fast as he can.

The presence of Magnus has grown to impossible levels, it was like feeling tons of pressure directly at your brain, when your basic and animal instincts just tell you to get the hell outta here and PRONTO.

"Aye, lad, you are guilty of a loot of things" nodded Magnus and without weakening the pressure over Lelouch who was already on his knees next to the stool he was using and having difficulties to breath " your hate, your anger and your fear, took the best of you and turn yourself a paranoid bastard".

"Your own fear turns against you when you hide, lie, betray and manipulate your own knights into your needs" Magnus was about to slap Lelouch with his sins and for that he need him awoke, so he weakened a little his divine presence, he need him alive not gaping like fish, after all, he was going to be one of his brothers.

"I will admit it, trust is hard to give, specially in your case" nodded Magnus allowing Lelouch to recover a little for the sudden massive divine presence he has put on him " so tell me one thing Lelouch Lamperouge or Vi Britannia or Zero, whatever you wanted to be called, did you ever thought about any of your comrades, as something more than a piece in your game?".

Lelouch sat in the stool and with all his willpower left take the tankard and have a drink, in order to calm his thoughts and his nerves.

"I..." trailed his voice, he wanted to say yes, fuck heavens, he truly wanted to say yes, that they were not their pawns, they were their knights, even if they betrayed him, a more than deserved treachery after all the shit he has put on them and not a single explanation after it.

"What I suspect" said Magnus " lad, you a very fucked up boy".

"You don't say" snorted Lelouch.

"But even with all that, you managed to pull out of your hat the Zero Requiem" continued Magnus and Lelouch wanted to hide himself in a hole for all eternity or to run, or to simply cover his hears and scream until the accusations went off.

But Magnus, just with his mere presence had him by the balls, if he even managed to piss off the god in front of him, he will vaporize him or made him things that all the previous suffering will seem to him like a walk in the park. Had he proof of all those assumptions?, not a single one, and yet all his instincts were screaming bloody hell.

"Lad, that was a piece of art, truly, masterfully done, a flawless performance" congratulated Magnus and Lelouch only felt more and more pieces of his heart fall and wither, he was already broken, please do not stomp the pieces.

"But I think you had missed a very critical point" said Magnus.

"Schneizel" growled Lelouch, his worst flaw, the corrupted piece that send a paradise, spiralling directly in the deepest bowels of hell.

"Nay, lad" shook his head Magnus much to the surprise of Lelouch " what was the objective of all the plan?".

"The world Euphemia and Nunnaly wanted, a kind, peaceful world" answer Lelouch without losing a beat.

"Aye, lad, that sound good, isn't it?" smiled Magnus " a worthy saga indeed, however, there is something that did seems to bother me a little in that regard".

Lelouch just waited patiently, for all his playful manners, this giant has already shown him that he was big game, and he was not in the mood for idiocies.

"If their world was the objective, isn't that means that they will be happy too?, that they could live without fear or into the violent and tyrannical world, that fucker of your father created?" asked Magnus.

"Yes" whispered Lelouch, the death of Euphy in the massacre of the ASZ or the fragile form of the old Nunnaly burning his mind.

"Do they look remotely happy, lad?" asked Magnus and Lelouch felt a dagger pierce his already broken heart.

No, no they don't.

"I can not blame you, you had this cheap knock off of true power engraved into your soul" said Magnus and Lelouch raised and eyebrow, was he talking about Geass?. " Those Geass things and the codes are like drugs, it soon goes to your head and makes you stupid, you start to rely on the Geass, you start to became dependent and arrogant in your power".

Truer words has never been said, Lelouch loved his geass, it was awesome, but in the end, he was not worthy of the power of the King, he has used it as a child with the gun of his father and only now that he could see the fruits of his actions, was he able to comprehend what he has done and the consequences of his actions.

"That was a nasty mix, little King" laughed Lelouch, little king?, what does that means?. " The power of Absolute obedience, in the hands of a sad and furious child, a child that hated everything, that hated the world with passion".

"Thanks Yggdrasil, that little angel of sister of yours was nearby, or you would have set the world on flames and laugh your ass off over the ashes" commented Magnus.

Lelouch wanted to protest, he really wanted to protest but the facts spoke against him and despite all his emotional turmoil, the logical part of his mind just accepted it like the truth. If it wasn't for Nunnaly, or Kallen, or C.C, or Jeremiah, or Sayoko, or Kaguya, or Shirley, or Milly, or Rivalz, or Ohgi, or Todoh, or Xingke, or Inoue, or Urabe, or Chigusa, or Raksata, or Loyd, or Cecille, or Gino, or Anya...good Lord, too many names, to many sins, to many idiocies to atone.

If it wasn't for them, Lelouch would have been as monstrous as Schneizel was. in the last part of the horrid world he has witness during his time in whatever prison he has been floating during god knows how much. It was painful but the blond heir and him were so akin, that it was scary.

"Demon Emperor" snorted Magnus " poetical, hiding your good, under the farce of being the evilest being in existence, clever, really clever but I think you did not think about the consequences as thoroughly as you should".

"Not to mention" clicked his fingers Magnus " that you did not receive what was yours, when you put down all the Akasha sword bullshit".

Lelouch blinked a pair of times, now he was completely lost.

"Sorry, what?" asked refilling his tankard, in all honesty, being drunk was something he was looking forward, he has never the chance to enjoy the little things on life.

"Aye, lad, you "killed" a god that day" smiled Magnus proudly " and when that happens, you became one of us".

"Who or what are those us?" asked Lelouch.

"Devil Kings, God Slayers, Campione, Rakhasas, Maou" listed Magnus with pride in his voice " the irrationality that stomps on the Irrationality of the deities".

"Uh" was the clever answer of Lelouch.

"Also the adopted sons of the witch and the fool" pointed Magnus to the chewing girl, who smiled at Lelouch, still munching with his checks inflated by food and a happy expression on her face.

"I present you Pandora,_ the woman who knows it all_" sighed Magnus " the previous mentioned witch, I am Magnus by the way, _Frostbraethr_ of Allfather Odin of Asgard, and a fellow Devil King, like you should have been".

"Double Uh!?" damn it, his time in whatever torture dimension it was has made him stupid beyond measure, mentally berated himself trying to cope up with what the two were trying to tell him and...

"Holy shit!" surmised pretty well the situation Lelouch.

"Aye, lad" laughed Magnus with humour " holy shit or unholy it depends on what side of the fence you are".

"But I, how?, oh, I am crazy isn't it?, this is some kind of delusion, damn it, why the torture can't end" rambled Lelouch before Pandora jumped at him with the most impressive flying kick the wrestling world has ever seen in a ten years old girl.

"I told you not to mope around, damn it!" roared the girl as she has sent Lelouch to the ground with what should have been a nasty concussion, she kicked like a mule, despite being even thinner and smaller than Nunnaly.

"She hates when people lost hope, you know" commented Magnus picking up the angered and pouting child by the neck of the toga she was wearing " and honestly lad, it is time for you to pick yourself up and start to set things right".

"How?!" roared Lelouch " I am dead damn it, I am dead, I couldn't do anything, I could only watch, how they suffer, how they die and how impotent I was, not more, please, just, not more".

"By Yggdrasil, C world has done numbers on you isn't it?" raised and eyebrow Magnus, releasing Pandora, he looks at the girl "please mother, show him, he need hope, by the beard of my brother, he need it more than anything else".

Pandora sighed and walked to Lelouch, who was already crying tears of desperation and hate, he hated himself, and this two gods were only adding even more salt to the wound, a wound that he desperately wanted to be healed, but at the same time, he wanted to always remember, the bad he has done.

With surprising strength, Pandora put her hands on the sides of the face of Lelouch and force his way down, so she could put her forehead against his and when the two connected, the power flowed inside of Lelouch.

Albion.

Two thousand years has passed since King Arthur Pendragon created the place, uniting his lands under the banner of Britannia, fighting the Roman Empire and their Cesar, battling with honour and strength all enemies of his brethren, hidden as a peregrine knight that dance, merry and joy with the populace.

A king that hide a dark secret, the Cult, the Code, the Geass, the distilled essence of the true power of a god, a thralled god, bounded by name and foul magic that none of them even remembered.

The avian symbol of the geass, the Aquila pretoris of the Roman legions, the lands of Greece, where the gods of the Roman empire born and prospered, Jupiter, the Aquila, the Pendragon, the Geass.

Zeus

Jupiter

A planet

Power

The cult

Geass

It was all connected, it was all bounded and intervened, the greatest lie of all history, Britannia was forged over Geass, the power of the first knight and the first king, passed through history, hide in plain sight. Merlin, better called M.M, along the rest of the cult, thralled a god, they bound him to the subconscious of humankind, they tied the faith to the minds of humanity, the power of Geass, the power of the Kings.

Kings, Deities.

Devil Kings.

Geass.

_Authorities._

Lelouch saw it and could only observe astonished, Arthur Pendragon, the greatest hero of Britannia was like him, hide under the mask of the peregrine knight, hidden under false identities, rebuild his kingdom and took for him the power of the Geass after meeting M.M.

The great betrayal.

Mordred

Morgana.

Arthur.

Lancelot.

_The lady of the Lake._

Armed with the power of the geass, Arthur build Camelot, armed with a Code, M.M helped him, Albion raise but the power of the King could not be contained, soon M.M had problems to keep Arthur in check and the Cult strike. The Cult own assassin, their own Geass user, one that carried the legacy of Arthur in his own veins and who has meet and usurp the power of the C world.

Mordred, the betrayer, the black knight, the treacherous one, who never wanted to betray Albion, who wanted to restore balance, who has used both the Cult and Albion to tear apart each other, destroying the world so they world could be renewed.

Lelouch understood.

The deities, the C world, the Boundary between realms, he now comprehends what the geass truly were and he felt quite nauseated, they were slivers, pieces of the true powers of the deities cut by force through the Cult methods and forced into canisters, the double letters, who will widespread the sickness and unconsciously spread the objectives of the cult.

Lelouch has destroyed that, he has destroyed the Sword of Akasha, he has destroyed the Order, the last bastion of the Cult, now only a few double letters roamed the world, along the rogue geass users and little cells of cultist independent from the Order of V.V and Charles Vi Britannia.

He did kill the gods that day, he stabbed them with his own Geass, the power of obedience and by doing so, he was take complete control over the sword of Akasha, destroying it, along the consciousness of the deities that formed the mass of the sword. But C world feared him, it let him go, it kept his power stored, it allowed the Zero Requiem to go ahead, to end in the worst possible way. And when the time was right, the C world used the most useful pawn it could find to put a leash on humankind, a leash called Schneizel, with a code in him, he was the puppet of the C world, making it appears as he was an Immortal Emperor when in reality, he was nothing but a puppet of the Cult, hidden in plain sight in his own court and making sure that the will of the C world follows as it has planned.

Volcanic anger.

That was the emotion Lelouch start to feel at the revelation, he has saved the C world, he has killed both his idiotic parents and in the end, it resulted that they were right!, this was nuts or not, wait. Lelouch was again in an empty grey space, for a second his heart clenched as if all that has experiment was nothing but a delirious of his broken and damaged mind, but the hands of Pandora has his left hand and the power of Magnus was backing him. He could feel the power of the giant coating him, it was like piloting his old _Shinkiro_, the powerful machine surrounded him, with enough power to vaporize entire armies, a War King that ruled over the battlefield.

Pandora had his hands, the soft, yet powerful sensation of the presence of the little and crazy divinity was comforting beyond words, it was like Nunnaly was smiling at him, like Kallen and the Black knights where with him again, Zero, the Knight of Justice was entire again.

Oh, dear lord, How has he missed that sensations.

Still, his mind couldn't take who was at the other side of the grey plain.

Royal, confident, powerful, Zero was standing in the other side of the plain, his own reflection, appearing as it was during his prime, when everything went according to plan, when his soul, despite being full of rage and vengeance, was complete and Nunnaly was at his side.

The second Zero look at the trio in front of him and for the amazement of Lelouch, it flaunted his cape and kneel in front of them. Lelouch was out of words, he has a wild guess about who was on the other side of the grey plain, however the appearance has put him a little off balance, after all Zero was his biggest and most terrible creation. Pandora let him go but she did not retire his presence.

He took mental note of trying to learn that trick, he was one of them, wasn't him?, that means he should be able to pull that wonderful trick when he needed it, ah, yeah, sorry, he was dead, it was useless now.

"I suppose, I do own you an apology Lelouch" said Zero, speaking with a mix of voices that Lelouch identified and felt rage clenching his heart.

Before he could even register it, Lelouch has covered the distance between them and with the best punch he has ever thrown in all his violent and manipulative life, Lelouch send Zero to the floor.

"Hell yes!" cheered Pandora with a wide smile.

"I deserved that I suppose" said Zero raising from the floor, Lelouch didn't even notice pain in his hand, despite having punched the metallic mask with enough strength to left a very noticeable indentation on the black and purple surface of the mask.

"Don't you dare to use that voices" said between clenched teeth Lelouch.

Euphy, Suzaku, Cornelia, Todoh; he has recognized those same voices when Zero has spoken and now he has recognized Tamaki, Rivalz, Milly and Chigusa, this bastard spoke with the voices of the death, with the voices of those he betrayed and was betrayed by and killed, it was too much for him.

"My apologies" bowed Zero, the indentation in the mask repairing by itself as the copycat spoke " but in this form I can only talk with the voices of those whose, even after death, were loyal to an icon, to a symbol, to Zero".

Lelouch punched him again.

"You are not Zero!" roared Lelouch " Zero is a monster, is a creature that has brought nothing but pain and chaos to the world, it never should have existed".

"I tend to disagree" said Zero with its usual mixture of voices " Zero brought more hope than he ever realized, and even in the darkest hour of humankind, there was a voice, a single sliver of hope, calling for it".

" Zero will be back, Zero will strike back" intoned Zero with a hundred voices.

"Useless, all hope was lost, I destroyed the world" Lelouch didn't end the phrase, this time, he was the one blindsided by his own doppelganger.

Pandora pouted in the distance, she wanted to beat the emo shit out of his latest children too!.

"Zero did something that no fucking person has done before, he stood against the C world and won, he vanquished the will of the gods and create a world on where everybody could reach the peace he was so longing for" the passion on where Zero spoke and the voices behind it, make Lelouch pause, this was not what he expected, honestly.

"Even in the darkest hour of humankind, even now that it is stagnating, there is a sliver in their hearts and souls" explained Zero raising his hands so Lelouch could see the world that Schneizel has conquered, muddy and stagnated " Zero will raise again, there will always be a rebel voice, a Devil King, a Demon Emperor, a Betrayer, a Harbinger of Chaos".

"Millions of deaths" said Lelouch opposing his own Zero masked reflections " the death of everything I love, the betrayal of everyone I did ever trusted and cared for, everything for nothing, at the end, I planted the seeds of hell on earth".

"Millions of lives saved" countered Zero facing Lelouch "you saved the lives of everyone, you betrayed yourself, everything you did for the world to not stagnant and die, the world will rebel against, you planted the seed of the next cycle".

"I am not a saviour" almost spite the word Lelouch.

"No, you are not, you Are Lelouch Vi Britannia, Lelouch Lamperouge and Zero" admitted Zero, after all, the worst role to play is the one of the betrayer, the trickster, the angel under the demon hide.

"And I am dead" simply stated Lelouch " I am dead, and I have still a lot of sins to atone".

"Oh for fuck sakes!" howled Pandora appearing at their sides and slamming their faces together, uh, headbutting his mask was not the greatest of the ideas.

"Enough with the angst and the bullshit" Pandora was very, very piss off with her child, she did not create them so they would become idiotic emos, not even that cocky bastard of Alexander.

"You screw up, big time, so what?" Pandora was a goddess and as her title says, she knew all, from the plans of Lelouch to his truly emotions, is impossible to bullshit a goddess of knowledge. Lelouch and Zero tried to reply but a single glare from the purple haired girl and both shut up in a second, now they begun to comprehend that Pandora _was_ a deity and she has lost any playful mood she had before.

"Now, listen carefully child" his voice has lost any childish tone, now it was the voice of an oracle, the voice of the gods made flesh " Zero was a good thing, you were right but you were human, subjected to the quintessence of your greatest power and your greatest weakness at the same time".

"Emotions, desires, ideas, plans, Lelouch you were broken since the beginning" said the goddess with sympathy and sadness in the voice " you were molded by your parents, they wanted you to prosper, to be their sword, to be their Devil King, but you my little child, went way beyond anything expected".

"You were Irrational and stomped on their own Irrationality, that was the essence of my children, the Devil Kings, the Campiones, and honey, you are one of a kind" laughed Pandora " but your hate, your anger, your darkest emotions added to the rush of that thing called Geass and in the end, your fear and yourself, became your worst enemy".

"Sure, you did horrible things" shrugged the goddess " come on, do you believe Albion was build on rainbows and ponies?, you have seen what poor Mordred had to swallow to get things, as right as he could, and he was a bastard of the worst kind but he knows that the balance must be restored".

"Betrayal?, poor child, of course you betrayed, and were betrayed at some point, you reap what you sow and when you sow lies and manipulations, what the fuck do you expect to harvest?" smirked Pandora and both, Lelouch and Zero flinched, it was like being scolded by a very, very stern mom, with a predilection for nasty punishments "for god sakes, look at your moronic parents, what happened to them at the end?".

"..."

"Exactly, look Lelouch is ok to smash your head against the wall repeated times to remind you, how much of and idiot you truly were, but honey, if that kills you, you do little favour to your dear ones".

"Not that I can do jack about them anyhow" muttered Lelouch with infinite sadness and regret in his voice.

Pandora slapped his head with her hand, looking at him with annoyance in the eyes.

"For such a clever child you are kind of slow on the uptake, aren't you?" said Pandora and Lelouch blinked, not following at all the purple haired goddess on her reasoning.

"Lad, what did Pandora told you when we found you and pick you out of that blasted torture dimension?" asked Magnus sighing in the background, now taking against his usual viking appearance.

"What do I want for Christmas?" answered back Lelouch with sarcasm in his voice.

"Exactly" deadpanned Pandora and Magnus.

That did throw Lelouch in disarray, so they were not joking, ok, this could sound absurd but if they were right, if he could make a wish, then things could get very interesting.

"I want to make things right" sighed Lelouch, in his heart, he wanted to do things right, to save them all, even that bastard of Schneizel, to atone for the errors he has made, to find what he really wanted.

To say sorry to those she offended, to make things right this time, to ask forgiveness to the friend he dammed to be nothing but a mask, to prevent the colossal botch of the ASZ day, to prevent the disastrous of the black knight rebellion, to save Cornelia, to save Shirley, to save Rolo of his own darkness, FREYJA will never be used, Nina will not carry with the burden of the terrible weapon, the list was long and so varied that Lelouch chuckled mentally with the darkest of humours. Why it was so easy to squash entire lives and cost so much to save just one?.

"Then its time to get your ass in gear and start setting the things right, isn't it?" laughed Magnus walking in front of Lelouch who was about to protest but then the hand of Magnus cover his forehead and just with a predatory smile, the same he had a thousand times when he was under the mask of Zero, announced.

" Welcome to the family Lelouch Vi Britannia, Lelouch Lamperouge, Zero".

Power, power like anything he has felt before run through his veins, molten iron scorched his arteries, his heart exploded in a massive discharge of electricity, every singe cell in his body feel to the brim with an inexplicable energy, an energy that he welcome with open arms.

His body, broken and renew in a single moment, all his body purified of deformities, wounds, scars, perfected to the maximum humanity will ever accomplish and fill with the energy that conform the bodies and powers of the deities.

Lelouch raise from the floor, with a savage smile in his face, this was nothing like Geass, the rush of the Geass was like stagnated water in comparison with what was running through his body right now, and deep inside him, a power answer his call.

A golden circle, with twin dragons of white and black circling forever the image of chess piece, a knight of old with a rusted and broken crown on its head, marking him as the black king; carrying, pointed to the ground, a demonic, black long sword, whose grip has a demonic red eye, permanently open over the guard; over the eye, the avian symbol of the Geass intersected with its own slit pupil. In a twisted sense, it shared a resemblance with the black and white trident of the Black Knights, and he couldn't but admire, how fitting it was.

Lelouch recognized it, instantaneously, the only legend that could relate to him, the only one that could understand his predicament, in complete acceptance, Lelouch open his arms, making the clothes of Zero appear over his perfect body, and called for the name of the god and the_ Authority_ he has now inherited.

"Lelouch Vi Britannia, Zero, thanks you from your blessing, Mordred, the [Black King]" announced Lelouch felling more complete that he has felt since forever.

"Well, Yggdrasil be bless" laughed Magnus " Mordred has answered to your call, that is unexpected, but Arthur is a snobby bastard and M.M still hates you for exterminating the order and the Akasha sword" shrugged Magnus.

"Its perfect" shook his head Lelouch, his _Authority_ fits him like a globe, the traitor that bring the change and ends restoring the balance, despite the history has always treated him like the worst villain of history.

Zero, the doppelganger of Lelouch just stared with his mask to the recently reborn Campione, waiting patiently for his resolution. Lelouch turned his face to Magnus and Pandora, his face devoid of all the pain and suffering he carried before, his eyes glowing with the power of the Geass, a Geass that belongs to Mordred in the first place and now, he bestowed it in the Campione, the one that has inherited his destiny and curse.

"I deeply thank you for this Mother, Brother" bowed Lelouch in a Britannian manner to the other Campione and the adoptive mother of all them.

Magnus has a wide smile and Pandora was in the verge of tears, running to Lelouch, she just jumped at his arms, crying rivers of happiness.

"WUAAAHHHH!; Mommy is so happy!, another child recognized her!" cried Pandora hugging Lelouch for her dear life, and the purple eyed Campione now discovered why all the Campiones are so resistant to damage, if every time Pandora sees them, she hugs them like that, she will crush half of them in her bear crushing love hugs of death.

"Told you mother, Godou and I are not the only ones who recognized you" Magnus put a hand over the shoulder of his little brother and pointed to the other Zero standing nearby in complete silence " but before we feast, there is still something that must be done, don't ya think, lad?".

Now Lelouch recognized the visage of Zero, and in all honesty he felt ashamed of himself when he hit the poor bastard, after all, he was hitting Zero, a part of him, the part of him that was not drenched in sin, fear and hate. With a nod and leaving a widely smiling Pandora in the arms of the giant fellow Campione, Lelouch face his own reflection and smiled at him in a very sheepish manner, the only difference between them now, was the dark and purple mask.

"Sorry" said Lelouch " I think I am going to use that word a lot, lot, more in future but for that future...will you be with me again?".

"I am you" said Zero with the voice of Lelouch.

" The best of me" nodded Lelouch " the Hero I pretended to be, the Leader the Black knights deserve, the King Kallen need, the Warlock of C.C, the God of Diethard, the best buddy of Tamaki, the Shogun of Todoh, and so much, much more...now, I need you more than ever".

Lelouch extended his hand to his double, almost trembling, fearing the rejection he deserved but for his eternal astonishment, when he blinked, Zero was no more and in his hands a black metal mask with a purple visor waited in his hands, with five spikes like the points of crown.

"Thank you" whispered Lelouch closing the mask to his face and feeling the sensation of the top-notch piece of tech and art, the cold touch of the mask on his face was like the touch of a lover, now he was complete.

The hiss of the mask adjusting, the visor of the mask changing his perception of the world

Now he was Zero again.

Not only Zero, but Zero the Campione, the [Black King].

"Nice, lad" congratulated Magnus and Pandora fiercely hug him, Lelouch petted the head of the goddess in affection and taking the mask of with a single gesture, smiled back to the giant.

"I feel complete for the fist time in eons" confessed Lelouch " however, I am not sure what is going to happen now".

"Now, we cash in some favours" said Pandora enjoying the pampering of the last of her children " and give a piece of my mind to the slouch bastards of gods of this universe".

"That is something that I would really love to see" laughed Lelouch and Mangus pick up Pandora seating the child in his broad and powerful shoulders.

"Come and see lad, this is gonna be really good" said Magnus as Pandora eyes went blank for a second before the entire realm collapsed in a blink.

Lelouch blinked and suddenly, he was standing in the Thought Elevator.

The odd space that his father and V.V created to access to the world of C and then to the collective subconscious.

Surrounding them were the columns of Greece style, that seems to float in the eternal dawn of the plane of existence of the Elevator, this odd space between space was as confusing as it ever was but now Lelouch was a Campione and he has soon get accustom to the Irrationality that seems to be bread and butter for the Campiones.

At least, he has not been forced to walk trough an art gallery full of the memories of Charles and Marianne, before they show him what they truly pretend to do with damn Akasha sword thing and how they wanted to turn the world into an Orson Wells distopic society, with them right on the top of course. Even if they were right and the C world or god or whoever runs the show, was a complete bastard, what they pretend, and became a complete failure as Schneizel created it, was a complete disaster, that would condemn humanity to extinction.

Now, he was standing in the same elevator that guide him to the room of the sword and the vision of Jupiter, the planet of the milky way and the only representation of gods that he encountered in all his days as Zero or in the Order bases. Magnus and Pandora walked right under the scope of the picture of the planet, followed by Lelouch that take some time to remember the past and focus on the task at hand, the memories of that day with his parents, Suzaku and C.C, when he defeated the gods and forced them to obey him. It does seems that he made a powerful enemy that day, an enemy that destroyed all what he loved just because he has just saved all their lives, talk about ungrateful. With the mask of Zero at his hip, Lelouch follow his two friends and recently found adoptive family into the space under the massive form of the planet Jupiter and then Lelouch chuckled when Pandora called out for the collective subconscious of all humankind in her unique style.

"Hey!, you bunch of wankers!, get your ass down here, before I get up there and kick your sorry asses for being a jerk with my family!" roared the girl and despite the rudeness of the words, she was speaking with the power of a goddess.

"Pandora" echoed the voice of the collective " the witch, the wife of the fool, leave, this is not your place, nor your world".

"Oh no!" hissed Pandora and extended her hand, all her petite body glowing in purple aura, an aura that make Lelouch shiver, in a mix of anticipation and fear, his instincts as Campione were acting in the presence of deities.

"Oh no, no, no, no, you are not going to pull the omnipotent, arrogant, piece of cosmic shit card with me, pals" speak Pandora between her clenched teeth.

As her aura expanded and Lelouch smiled for the sudden warmness that covered his body, he noticed how the surrounding space started to protest, it was almost like a savage dejavu from his last days, when he used the Geass to coerce the collective to allow the time to flow and prevent their own demise at the hands of the Sword of Akasha. A thousand cries and voices erupted from the space over and under them, a tremor made all the place tremble with earthquake like fury, the crescendo of pained voices went up until a point that will result unsupportable, the gears that seems to hold the platform started to grind faster and violently,

And the three of them stood in silence and indifference at the display of the C world. As the C world seems to finally calm and accept the domination of Pandora, the voices spoke from all angles.

"What do you want child?, this is not your world" asked the voices.

And it was needed all the strength of Magnus to keep a very piss off Pandora contained before she tore those gods, limb by limb for the child remark, she was older than any of these jokers; and they dared to act high and mighty!.

"We are here to reclaim compensation" said Magnus still keeping the struggling Pandora in his arms " your interference has provoked the destruction of balance, your interference with what my brother Lelouch did for you, has created a world who is condemned to stagnation and death in a few centuries".

"Mortals know their place" answered the voices " no one will ever dare to point the Sword at us, they must learn the lesson, the wheel of fate will not turn against us".

"Pathetic, pitiful, cowards!" said Lelouch and Pandora at the same time.

"You are the collective, you will die with them, idiots" said Pandora shocking Lelouch to the core " you are the sums of all the collective minds of humankind and when they threaten you, you suicide?, what on earth?, you bunch of collective fools!, the wheel of fate and the wheel of time runs parallel, you can not have one without the other and you had quashed the wheel of fate with this idiotic stunt".

"Ok, that was new even for me" whispered Magnus to Lelouch " you always learn something new, every time you hang out with a goddess of knowledge".

"You don't say" smiled Lelouch, taking good note of what the conscious was, and if it was the case, then perhaps...

A crazy, desperate, irrational hope burnt in his heart, if the collective Was the sums of the minds of all humankind then, it means that among them, in the collective there was his people, his allies, his friends, all of them waiting for his command. Giving a step ahead, silently cheered by a smiling Magnus who could recognize the mad smile of a Campione before he was about to do something irrational, their trademark, Lelouch walked until he was directly in the middle of the shadow of the planet. Raising one hand and pointing at the massive orb of the planet, Lelouch smiled and let his Geass, glow bright red in his eyes, with a flaunting gesture of his cape, Lelouch intoned a pledge and an order.

"God, Collective subconscious, I don't care what or who you are, Zero Commands you" paused Lelouch with a dramatic tone.

The avian symbol of his eyes flared in synchrony with his golden and black divine aura, as the Circle and symbol of Mordred appear behind him, showing who he was and show his power, his _Authority_, the supreme power of the gods.

"I call my Black Knights back, I call my Witch back, I call my Queen back, I call everything I hold dear to be back to me, in payment your offence and interference" commanded Lelouch and the avian symbol appeared over the planet like it did in the past.

Smashing his way through the fearful minds of the collective, smashing all resistance and breaking the holds of fear, hate and anger within the stagnant and corrupted minds of the future humankind, bringing back from the past, those minds that aligned himself with the past, the minds and soul of those that challenge fate along him and created the paradise.

"In my name, the name of Zero, the name of Lelouch Vi Britannia, I hereby declare that I will destroy that putrid and corrupted future" thundered Lelouch, hearing the cheers and laughs of approval of Magnus and Pandora behind him.

"**I command you..."**

**["TURN BACK THE WHEEL OF TIME!"].**

Blankness.

For...not sure how to explain time, when there is not time to speak about, Lelouch floated in an empty blank space, his body and soul travelling, he could sense movement, he could sense direction and determination. As soon as it begun, it stopped, abruptly and with pain, like a childbirth, his mind revolted against the pain and suddenly he found himself falling face first into a concrete floor.

Second time this happens; wait, concrete?.

Area Eleven/Tokyo Settlement/Shinjuku ghetto.

Lelouch groaned, by Pandora; hope she didn't mind swore in her name; face first against the floor again, but it was a good thing he was a lot more resilient now, and he barely fell the physical pain but the hit to his dignity and pride was much more significant. Love his new body, it was hard as steel and much better than his previous and weak human body, that could barely exercise without losing his breath at the first dozen metres. Massaging his nose, he suddenly repaired that he has just fly seven metres in the air and has slammed his face against the side wall of a broken tunnel in the middle of a city, a very, very familiar wall and tunnel.

With hope burning in his mind and heart, he analyzed the place, and with his heart almost exploding in relief and joy, he confirmed what he has suspected. The truck, the bloody and thrice times be dammed truck that carried his witch was directly in front of him. He was in Shinjuku, he was in the past, he was alive, C.C was just right in front of him. With a spring in his pace that he hadn't had in eons, he run to the front part of the truck, with a bit of luck, the friends of Kallen and the rest will be alive, but soon he felt that hope die out as he found how the accident has killed the driver.

Sighing, he picked up the pistol and check that it worked, there was barely a dozen of bullets between the clip and the back chamber but it will suffice, he put it in the back side of his Ashton Academy uniform, ah, yeah, the guards and his Geass awakening and all those events. The locks of the capsule hissed, finally giving up after the rough treatment of the truck accident, the one that Kallen and the rest highjacked in the faces of Clovis, the one that was supposingly carrying poisonous gas and instead was carrying something far more precious.

The capsule open and Leloch smiled.

In a burst of vapour and hydraulic hisses, C.C broke free from her capsule, an amazing pale and green haired young woman, dress with a white prisoner garb, the movement of freedom shot her hair in a glorious cascade of green hair as her lips tasted free air for the first time in god knows how much. She stumbled and Lelouch moved, so fast that he almost tripped with the rubble of the accident, whoa, he has to get accustomed to his new body and fast, it will be quite awkward to fall awkwardly in front of her witch, she will never left him live it down.

In an impressive show of speed and agility, something that Lelouch didn't have in his previous life, the trekked the crashed truck and catch the falling C.C before she could hurt herself. Uh, she was immortal, bah, never mind, she will not suffer anymore, not if he could say something about it. Tenderly holding in his arms, he carried her in bridal style, jumping from the truck to the floor without even losing a step. He laid her on the floor, carefully caressing her green hair and soft pale skin, she has suffered more than enough in her long life, and in her last days, it has been his fault that she has suffered beyond description.

Not anymore.

Suddenly the sound of the wheels of a knightmare echoed in the ears of Lelouch, that raise his head with annoyance, it does seems that the script of this damn tragedy wanted to be played again. But this was a new rehearsal, this was an entirely new play, one that Lelouch will make it sound at his tune, he owns it to everybody who has ever betrayed and failed.

A mix of britanian soldiers appeared in the roads near the entrance of the tunnel.

Half a squad of ground soldiers form the Britannian army and a dozen royal guards soldiers of Clovis entered under the destroyed bridge, the frame of the Knightmare slowly rolling behind them, as they seem to be searching for the terrorist or for anything to discharge his weapons on, they were not precisely picky in their victims choice. The soldiers were soon dispatched in another direction as the royal guard entered in the shadowy tunnel under the bridge, where he was calmly waiting for C.C to awoke, he didn't feel fear or nervousness, at most, he felt an immense relief of having her witch back with him.

A royal guard shouted when he saw them in front of the wrecked truck, Lelouch didn't even care about it, he was waiting for C.C to awoke, he has so many things to told her, so many things to apologize for.

"Uh?!" echoed the voice of the speakers of the Knightmare frame, a _Sutherland, _not really a surprise, this was the day where the _Lancelot _made his debut, so it was too soon to see any advanced seven and eight generation machines around.

"What on earth is doing a student here?" a man exited from the cockpit of the _Sutherland_, dress with the usual flamboyant ways of the Royal guard, Lelouch never understood the need of so many feathers and decorations. Being honest, he wasn't even paying attention to the words of the man, sighing and raising from his position at the side of the green haired woman and with a final caress of her pale check, Lelouch faced the soldiers.

His posture, his confidence, hell, all the royal guard felt uneasy in the presence of the slim and black haired boy, everything in his manner screamed royal and they don't have an idea of what the hell was doing a royal in the middle of this hole of a ghetto.

"Well, yours is bad luck, boy" laughed the man over the Knightmare, trying to infuse himself and their men with a confidence they don't really have.

Despite being armed and being a dozen of them, not to mention a Knightmare, every one of them was having serious problems to keep staring at the boy, his presence was like staring at a tiger at the zoo, where you are grateful that there is a unbreakable glass separating you from them. However, there was no glass here and they were experimenting how it feels to have a god watching you squirm.

"We will kill all of those eleven scum and blame your deaths onto them" clicked his fingers the royal guard like it was the best plan in the world " we will be heroes for killing dangerous terrorist and we clean any witness at the same time".

Wrong words, very, very wrong words.

Lelouch frown and his presence cloaked the entire space of the tunnel.

The lights of the Knightframe blinked, the system trying to overcompensate the sudden and unknown energy permeating the systems. The effect on the royal guard was not very different, all of them start to sweat bullets, fear clenching their hearts like the claw of a beast, their muscles started to fell like jelly and two of the weakest of them, had to find support in the legs of the knelt _Sutherland_ to endure the pressure.

"Beg your pardon?" ask Lelouch in a very polite manner, not to mention revealing his Britannian education, not really a surprise considering the Ashford Academy in the area but still, his tone, the cadence of the words, they were in the presence of a King.

"Ah..." lost words the royal guard, all his instincts were screaming to run, to run as far and fast as he could, fear like anything he has ever felt grip his heart and he could see that some of their men were in the verge of fainting.

Lelouch shrugged and walk back to the side of her witch, who was moaning softly, recovering from whatever the hell, they give to her to keep her sedated and calm inside the dammed capsule.

With a tender smile, Lelouch pick up the fallen woman, so he could awake in a more comfortably position, indifferent to the royal guards behind him, they were of little consequence for him, in comparison of the green haired pizza lover immortal witch in his arms.

C.C has had better days, hands down in that matter, in fact being a guinea pig for Clovis was not in her future plans, not even in a joke, V.V, Charles, the Order, all of them seems to have forfeited her, leaving at the tender care of Clovis doctors and scalpels, that had no idea of what the hell they were doing or with what they were messing with. She had a code, and not even her really understood how it works, she doubted anyone on earth really knows what truly are the Geass or how they were created and designated.

She has been walking this valley of tears for seven hundred years and she still didn't have the slightest idea of what she was, beyond a holder of a code that granted her immortality, imposed on him by a thrice times be dammed nun during medieval times. She started to awoke and to her surprise, there was a presence at her side, something she has never felt before, something that send a crawl on her spine, and that itself was a novelty, emotions was something that she has almost but lost during the centuries of her long and full of hardships life. There was something in the presence, something that make her nostalgic and warm at the same time, an emotion that she believed had buried long ago under layer after layer of suffering and coldness.

Yet, there it was, hammering the corners of her mind. She open her eyes and found herself in the strong and caring arms of a young boy who smiled at her with warmness, his violet and deep eyes fill with love, joy and a cloud of regret and guilt. Who was this boy?, C.C suddenly noticed the resemblance between this boy and Marianne, this was Marianne son?, how much time has she been imprisoned in that putrid lab?, and why was she felling more and more comfortable in his arms?.

"Good morning, my witch" saluted the boy with a voice that make C.C body tingle, his voice was the voice of a lover, so full of love and concern that for the first time in almost two decades, C.C was at lost of words. However, he pushed the boy to the side before a shot could hit him, taking the bullet right on her head, the whiplash send her sprawled on the floor, blood flowing from a hole in her head. Time froze for Lelouch, the picture of the death of C.C was too fresh and too close to his heart, specially after how his most recent memory of the pizza lover immortal was dying, forgotten and broken in a cell, at the hands of his brother Schneizel.

Rage, pure unadulterated rage flow from him in waves.

The royal guard responsible for the shooting, still holding the smoking gun, felt his throat dry in a second, his heart beating so fast that it was like it pretended to escape from his chest. Two eyes, demonic eyes with an avian red symbol were the last thing he would ever seen, before the blackness surrounded him.

"**[Die]"** as simply as that.

Lelouch has ordered and they have to die, some had blown their own heads with their guns, other had just fallen to the ground where they were standing, other has clenched their hearts before collapsing.

Didn't matter, Lelouch didn't even spare a second glance to the massacre, instead he took the collapsed form of C.C and walked out of the tunnel, he was more calm now, knowing that the witch was still immortal and she will only need some extra time to recover from being shot in the head.

A second _Sutherland_ appeared near them, and Lelouch suddenly remembered Villetta Nu, the woman that has acted as her personal nightmare as P.E teacher and, at later date and with a lot of ups and downs on all the way; the wife of Kaname Ohgi, one of his most trusted Black Knights, he has caused a lot of suffering to both of them, now perhaps it was time to do things differently and with luck, stop stomping each others feet at the smallest opportunity.

"You!, Identify yourself!" shouted Villetta from the speakers of her machine, Lelouch smiled and with C.C still in his arms, ordered Villetta to come down the _Sutherland_.

His _Authority_, [Black King] was the purest form of the Geass of absolute obedience, it was a power that grants absolute authority and command over all what stands in your domains.

In this case and until Zero could claim to be the protector of all Japan, his reach was limited to his sight and ears, on the bright side, he could command machines now, always with the limitations of being under his direct command or the command of one of his followers.

Villetta was no safe behind the metal of her machine and soon she jumped out of the cockpit of the war machine.

"I apologize Villetta, I really do" chuckled Lelouch " but I need your machine, give me the keys and the password if you are so kind".

"Sure, your Highness" replied the woman with the eyes reflecting the avian symbol of the Geass.

That was new and tremendously obvious, it does seems that subtly was not among the perks of his _Authority_. On the bright side, he didn't act forced, nor there was any doubt of tremble in her movements, it was complete dominance. Oh, the joy, he was a bloody thrall master now, this only means that he will have to be extra cautious. By Pandora, he will not allow the ASZ and the death of Euphy to repeat itself again, not this time.

"Sorry for this Villetta" sighed Lelouch "I promise, I will compensate you for this, however I must ask of your help once again".

"Whatever you need your Highness" replied the woman without losing a beat.

Lelouch felt like a total jerk, not even half and hour in the new time line and he has already Geassed Villetta, and killed all the royal guards, exactly the same script of his first life. By Pandora, he wanted to do things right and this wasn't the right thing to do, however he had no choice for the moment.

"I want you to pick up a fallen Honorary Britannian that has been shot by the royal guard, five hundred metres in that direction" pointed Lelouch with his chin, the place where Suzaku had been shot for defending his fellow Japaneses "carry him to the G-1 base infirmary".

"Yes, your Highness" answered Villetta and moved to the direction of Suzaku, searching for his body and ready to carry him to the G-1 infirmary.

Right in the faces of the _Lancelot_ development team, that will be looking for a pilot and will be more than happy to test it with Suzaku, that will score an impressive 90% in the compatibility test. There was something that he prefer to keep as similar as possible, he owned some people that at last, other will fell his fury and there will be no corner of the creation on where they could escape from his retribution.

But first, it was time to collect his Black Knights.

Kallen was running for her life, the wheels of her poor red _Glasglow_ leaved a trail of smoke over the terrain, as she tried to outmanoeuvre a trio of relentless _Sutherlands_, technically superior machines to hers but the skill of the pilots was a determinative factor on a battle of Knightmares and Kallen was one of the best there is.

Lelouchs Red Queen, the fierce dragoness who will shock him to the core, with her indomitable will and amazing pilot skills.

It was good to see her again, he owns the girl a lot, the only one that even tried to protect him when the Black Knights betrayed him under the manipulations of Schneizel. As Kallen was running from her chasers, Lelouch was comfortably sitting on the cockpit of the _Sutherland_, once Villetta has delivered him the keys and the password, the machine was his, literally, he could control it, just with his mind, he didn't even need the controls, he thought and the machine acts.

Rakshata would have had an orgasm if she ever saw him like this, after that, she, most probably, would try to dissect him to replicate it and rub it in the face of Loyd, the infamous Earl of Pudding. The new boss of Suzaku at the end of this debacle. Without even looking at the factsphere data. Lelouch played the same way he did in the past, feeling a little guilt about shooting Jeremiah, he guided Kallen into the train and help her gain the upper hand in the battle. Soon she found the rest of her militia, and in the distance Lelouch tried to suppress a sob and a pang of guilt and regret.

"My dear friends" he was talking to the radio to those who soon will become the founding members of the Black Knights, as they discovered the eleven _Sutherlands_ inside the train that Lelouch has sent their way, machines and weaponry, ready for action "this is an offering and a request, will you allow me to lead you into victory today?".

Lelouch will never force them into anything, last time, his own arrogance and pride dictated his terms and words, now he was relatively free of the hate, this time he will do everything like a true King will do. He was a Devil King after all, Pandora will kick his ass, if he ever screws things up and suddenly he saw the image of a proud and pouting Pandora in his head, it does seems that his divine family was not as lost as he thought.

Wonderful news indeed.

"Who are you?" asked Ohgi, good, old Ohgi " why are you helping us?".

"Why?, it´s the right thing to do, about the who?" Lelouch felt a powerful wave of nostalgia and guilt for what he has done, but there was no time for that now, his name, his real, powerful and true name was...

"**I am Zero"** when the words left his lips, unconsciously he slipped part of his power, the power of the King and when the people on the other side of the line ear it, they stiffened, that voice has touch their souls.

Lelouch cut the communication, so many emotions running rampant in his soul, he wanted to run at their side, to ask for their forgiveness, to make amends, but it was too soon, and in all honesty, despite being a Campione, he was human and just the mere idea of Kallen hating him was too much for him. A moan sound behind him and Lelouch smiled, C.C was awakening and boy, she was in for a surprise, he had a camera ready for this moment, after so many years, he was going to finally catch the witch completely off guard, oh, the delicious blackmail he was about to obtain.

Jeremiah Gottwald was a very honest and proud man, however, at the same time, he was a man that carries and enormous burden, a burden that still today weighted on his soul, his worst failure, a wound in his heart that has festered and turn the noble Jeremiah into the banner of the Pureblood faction.

He loved his country, really, he loved Britannia, specially when he was under the command of Marianne the Flash, the Knight of Two and possible the best Empress Britannia could have even asked for. The days he pass on the Aries villa as part of the guard were the best of their lives, seeing the children of the Emperor, Lelouch and Nunnaly, true beacons of nobility and hope, to grow and play like the children they were. Then the tragedy strike, Marianne assassinated, Lelouch and Nunnaly disappeared in Area Eleven and then the Invasion hit this god dammed lands, the Elevens killed the children, killed the hope of Britannia.

Jeremiah dared to suffer a martial court but he had to confirm it, he broke formation and made his old _Glasgow, _almost explode for the run he made to the ruins of the Kururugi temple, the place where both siblings where during the invasion and one of the places that suffer one of the worst bombardments of the war for the Sakuradite. Something broke inside Jeremiah that day, who in the past was a kind and proud soul, felt that he has failed the only people that has ever mattered in his life, the glorious children that carry a brilliant future for Britannia, had been killed by the thrice be dammed Elevens.

Since then, he immediately asked for a place into the Eleven zone, didn't really giving a fuck about Prince Clovis but doing everything in his hand to look even the minuscule clue he could find about the siblings. In his heart, they were alive, they have to be, he rejected the idea of such a brilliant pair of souls to be consume in a carnage like it was the Japanese wars, and in all, it was just an excuse for the Sakuradite, the precious mineral that allows the Knighframe to move and fight, better than any other kind of fuel.

As the time passes and the clues went cold and its appearance more and more scarce, so did the hope and kindness in his heart, for Jeremiah, the siblings were almost his own children, he owned that to the woman to vouch for a clumsy fool like him and allow him to became one of the best knights in Britannia. But that was in the past, and in the deepest corners of his heart, Jeremiah knew that no matter how much number blood he spills, it will never satisfy his guilt and sorrow, for not being able to protect Marianne or her children when they really need him. Grumbling to himself, very annoyed for how the damn terrorist had escape from his grasp when he had her in a silver platter, the knight walked on foot in the middle of the ghetto, he was almost waiting for a chance to discharge his fury into the first Eleven who even dare to look in his direction.

But fate was not his ally today, and Jeremiah keep walking alone, with the only company of his own thoughts and how his guilt has made him the man he was today, sometimes, when the bottle is open for too long and the alcohol has camped at the doors of your brain, he wondered if Lady Marianne would be happy with who was he today.

The leader of the Pure blood faction, a standing knight of impeccable service and loyal to Britannia to the fault. He would gladly throw all of that off the window, if that means the children of Marianne were alive and well, Dear God, he would do it gladly and with a smile. As he walked, he eyed everything around him, the so called ghettos are nothing but terrorist nest, where the bastards could hide and plan their next attacks and kill more proud sons of Britannia. And yet, the old Jeremiah was still there, waiting, patiently waiting for his chance to take this arrogant bastard by the neck and slam his face against the oath he took as knight, until he saw the light.

There was no honour in this.

One thing was to kill the enemy in the battlefield, everybody with military training knows that the battlefield could claim anybody; from the highest echelons of the chain of command, to the humblest infantry soldier; with equal ease. But this was not a battlefield, not even a joke of one, this was a slaughter, pure and simple. And despite how Jeremiah had the slightest doubt in his movements and how he carried the orders as an outstanding scion of Britannia should do, the old Jeremiah was there, reminding that this was sick and only sullied his honour and the honour of Britannia. But there were orders that must be carried, he has sworn absolute loyalty to prince Clovis, the same way he sworn loyalty to Marianne in the past.

Although, and in the secrets corners of his mind, that was an open wound still bleeding, Clovis has mocked him, slapping him with the fact that Marianne died under his guard, that his dearest siblings Lelouch and Nunnaly disappeared under his guard. What guaranties does he had that the same will not happen in the future?. In all honesty, Jeremiah couldn't respond to that accusation at all, it was the devastating truth, he Did fail those under his care, he couldn't protect the precious children and his Lady and that burn in his soul more than any wound during his career.

He created the Pure bloods, in hope that having a unit of pure sons and daughters of Britannia would bring some honour into this god forsaken lands, that perhaps he could redeem himself.

Surprise; he failed, miserably.

Half of the faction, are nothing but boot lickers, fresh from the academy and ready to stab anyone in the back if that guaranties them a promotion to Baron or Duke, and the other half were so busy dealing with the previous, that it was a miracle they had not been shot already by any sane, real, officer out there.

Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, how empty sounded that title to him now, he was the leader because that title, and in all honesty, he barely trusted four or five of his men in the Pure bloods. Villetta Nu was one of them, the girl had a solid head over her shoulders, something that he could not say about the rest of the Purist Faction. The siluette of the G-1 appeared on the distance and Jeremiah check up his communicator, he has just landed in the middle of a jamming zone, probably from the destroyed electrical wires and the electronic warfare General Asprius has ordered as soon as they had reached the Ghetto with the mobile base. The static was almost cleared now and with a sight of relief, Jeremiah called in for any close units to his positions. During his time as trainee and squire, he has walked entire continents on foot, in the worst conditions know to man, he was walked enough to know that a swift pick up, beats walking for hours in the middle of a hostile zone.

Any eleven with a gun and his live would be forfeit, they only need to shoot him from a safe distance and all his swordsmanship will do jack against the bullets, not to mention, the suit of a pure blood was good to show Britannia colours but was not a real armour, something like that was way beyond his pay grade and status. The shadow of a _Sutherland_ appeared behind a building and the machine gesture Jeremiah to climb his hand and keep moving, soon Jeremiah noticed how damaged the machine was and how there was only two of them. That was odd, they do seems more like retreating soldiers from a battlefield than the extermination troops that they would have been. Running at the offered transport, Jeremiah jumped into the hand and open a channel with the pilot of the Knightmare.

"What´s the meaning of this, soldier?, what has happened to your unit?" asked a flabbergasted Jeremiah.

"They have eradicated us, sir" answered the pilot with tiredness in his voice " they ambush us with their own _Sutherlands_, we are unable to distinguish friend of foe before it was too late; its like they know where are we and how many of us are".

"What!?" shouted Jeremiah covering his face with his arm against the wind, this was nuts, how on earth has managed a group of ragtag terrorist to put their hands in _Sutherlands_?.

Lelouch sneezed and raised an eyebrow, Campiones are almost immune to all sickness, except the plagues created by gods, so how come he has sneezed?, following Japanese customs, someone must be talking about him then.

Well, no matter, he was having so much fun in this pathetic excuse of battle.

Smiling wickedly, Lelouch played with a black piece of chess in his hand.

_Checkmate Clovis._

In all honesty, Commander Bartley Asprius was at a complete lost of words.

What did seem like a swift cleaning operation, has become a clusterfuck of epic proportions that threatens his own head if the things continue like they have been for the last hour. Clovis has lost his composure at the lost of the first ten units but when the squads started to disappear like in a magic tricks and all the tanks had been blow up to pieces by _Sutherlands_, Bartley knew that the rebels were much better equipped that the inteligence reports suggested. Even if it is the last thing he did in his existence, he was going to found the cretin that has written the reports and force feed him with them and ten litres of Yorkshire sauce.

Clovis has already made enough strategic mesh ups for a life and Bartley knew that heads will fall in the aftermath of all this clusterfuck, that was supposedly only for recovering a container of poisonous gas from the private labs of the Prince and governor of this Area Eleven. Walking up and down of the command room of G-1 mobile base, the blonde Prince was a nervous wreck, he was totally out of his element in this place, he was a social peacock, a beast of social events and shit like that. He was not a commander, something that was clear for all the presents in the command room, still, he was the Prince and they will follow, that was the way of Britannia.

Villetta was drinking from a canteen of water, she has returned to the G-1, just in time to witness with widened eyes how the few survivors of the " battle", if this can be called a battle and not an extermination; returned to the base. This was nuts, this were not terrorist ragtag groups, no armed group of militia inside the ghetto had such firepower, for fucks sakes, how come they had _Sutherland _Knightmares?, only Britannia should have those, even some of their own forces were still riding _Glasgows_, and then, a bunch of rebels had _Sutherlands_.

Still, she has more problems to deal with.

Starting about how on earth has she managed to lost her Knightmare, just to carry an injured soldier back to the infirmary, and the soldier was one of those Honorary Britannians, a dammed eleven. However, when she discovered that the boy has been shot in the back, by the Sargent of a squad of her own faction, because he has argued against shooting unarmed civilians, she saw red and almost went into the temporary bunks of the Purist Faction inside the base and pummel to death the foolish cretin that has done that. She knew how it was to be treated like shit, after all, her own mocha skin was more than enough for her to have suffered quite the share of harassment and bullying during her childhood, and no less discrimination and bullshitting during her training as soldier and knight.

She was thankful to Jeremiah, the leader of the Purist, despite being sometimes and insufferable douche bag, specially in what Britannia is concerned, he has been fair and honest with her, promoting her when it was due and vouching for her competence when she became a Knight of Honor and part of the Purist Faction. Villetta owned the Margrave a lot, and she would love to help the man with his particular obsession, but she was nothing but a trainee when the shit hit the fan in Area Eleven and Britannia fell over them like the hammer of the gods.

Being honest, she didn't have the slightest idea about what to do, she tried to be as good soldier as she can but in the actual state of the Area and the rumors that came from the Homeland, she was starting to have second thoughts about not pack her things and flee to Australia.

For example, how with the excuse of a gas, they had been exterminating all elevens they have found, independently they have a weapon, were affiliated to the terrorist or not.

Knight of honor, her ass.

She was not felling honorable right now, in fact she was felling like the Britannian whore those assholes have called her more than once, she was a good soldier, one of the best but this was just wrong, plain and simply wrong. There was no honor in this massacre and suddenly, some Elevens seems to have grown a backbone and miraculously get from nowhere some brand new _Sutherlands_ and start to bust the asses of the Britannian army like there was no tomorrow.

She saw Sir Jeremiah jump from the hands on one of the machines, and even in the distance she could almost felt the frown on his face, he could not appear like it in public, but he hated his position and how the meaning of Pure bloods and Knight of Honor has been degraded into some kind of title to flaunt about, instead of the meaning of duty and honor that it should upheld. The day Jeremiah will bust, will be a day that Villetta will make sure to be far away from him; at a continent distance to be on the safe side. Ironically, she could not be more right, if this was the first time-line of course.

"Villetta!" called Jeremiah "what the heck is going on?, how come a bunch of lowlifes with a broken _Glasgow_ had destroyed four squads and more than twenty armored vehicles?".

"I am as flabbergasted as you, sir" said Villetta, joining his officer in the field, surrounding the G-1 was the rest of the forces of the city, around thirty _Sutherland_ and twice the numbers of armored vehicles and tanks.

"This is impossible, they must have hack into the comms or the IFF" said Jeremiah, walking to the bunks of the pure bloods, they will pick another _Sutherland _and hunt this little pricks until there is none left, their pride deserve nothing less.

"Asprius had changed it about five times by now" commented Villetta " the order came by foot, just in case they have had hack into the comms".

"They are clever than that then" simply stated Jeremiah, sighing, Asprius was a text book general, he goes by the book in every battle and this time, it does seems that the usual tactics are completely useless " I don't even know, how on earth has they managed to get their hands in new frames or how on earth did they know our codes".

"Suspect foul play, sir?" asked Villetta paling a little.

Jeremiah stopped in his tracks, she was suggesting that there was a traitor among them, someone that has sold them to the elevens, the mere idea nauseated Jeremiah to the core, who?, who could be so stupid?. Unfortunately, soon appeared a dozen names in his minds, of cretins that would jump at the chance of sully the career of other Knights of Honor, and then betray the elevens and kill all witness.

He has seen that before, he has participated in similar things before and those actions were still a stain in his soul, a stain that he fear will never abandon him; more than once, and only when the alcohol has broke his mental defenses, lamented if his Lady Lamperouge would approve of what he has done in this sick years.

"I hope not Villetta" sighed Jeremiah " dear God, I truly hope not, but both of us know that there are people in our faction that would have no qualms in taking advantage of the situation to further promote their own careers".

Villetta caught the reference in a second, those backstabbers Jeremiah has veiled point out in the conversation, will indeed, be more than please to see a knight like him, fall from grace and along him, the few that were truly honorable like her and few others. This was a clusterfuck and what was worst, Elevens are kicking their asses with a facility that it was almost terrifying. This will be a blow of tremendous proportions to the moral of the Britannian army stationed in Area Eleven.

"Damn it, sir, this doesn't have any sense, even that excuse about the gas, this is wrong" started to say Villetta.

"Major!" cut short Jeremiah " is not our place to questions the methods or strategies of our lord".

Those were his words, but Villetta knew better and she could see in his eyes how deeply hurt was the man for the horrors he was doing in the service of Britannian, he has done the same question as her a thousand times. Where was the honor in this?, where is the glory of Britannia in this?, how low has they fallen to consider this as a common thing and an unavoidable thing?.

"Sir..." tried to say Villetta but then, the voice of the General Asprius echoed through the mobile base.

"All units advance, surround and overwhelm the terrorist, Kill them all, in the name of his Prince Clovis, All Hail Britannia!".

Jeremiah and Villetta paled in unison at the orders, that idiot was sending all the forces to the field!, that would have work if the enemy did not have their own _Sutherlands_, that was going to be a massacre!.

"That arrogant idiot!" hissed Villetta.

"Major!" reprimand Jeremiah again his subordinate, however he wholeheartedly agreed with the soft brown skinned woman " orders are orders and as Knights we will see them fulfilled to the letter, understood?".

"Yes, sir" swallowed Villetta the anger and rage she was feeling for the disaster that was about to happen.

"_Dear God, how low ha__ve we__ fallen"_ thought with bitterness.

In another part of the ghetto, all the impromptu army of Lelouch was almost celebrating the tremendous kick in the balls that they have just give to the Britannian army, there was an atmosphere of incredulity and joy, they had made it. Kallen was exultant, her red _Glasgow, _despite being a supposedly second rate machine; has called the most of the enemy destroyed machines and by some strange reason, every time the voice of Zero appeared in their comms, she could felt the proud and tender nostalgia in their voice.

All the Yamato alliance were as confused as the rest about the identity of their mysterious benefactor, but the _Sutherlands_ served in a silver platter, the weapons, the supplies, everything that he has offered them for free in the train was a fucking godsend for them and the rest of the civilians they have been evacuating form this abomination of a purge, Prince Clovis was orchestrating.

Ohgi carried the wounded into a truck, the evacuation was proceeding amazingly well, all things considered, however the order of Zero to leave a small force of containment and focus in the evacuation surprised him a little. So far, Ohgi felt that he knew Zero, or at last the man knew him, his voice was one of man, although any voice scrambler in the black market would be more than enough to camouflage his voice, but the tone of the voice was the thing that bugged him. There was pride about them, he knew who they are and how to use them to the max, using their skills to the maximum, he directed like they were and orchestra and Kami be bless what concert had they offered to the Britannnians.

And think, that all of this has started like a terrible mess.

They had stolen a very dangerous poison research from the private labs of Clovis, and before any of them could do a shit, they had hunted them like blood hounds all over Tokyo and into the Shinjuku Ghetto, cleaving a bloody path in their wake. They spared no one, children, women, they didn't care at shit about who they shot, until they could put their bloody hands on the truck and whatever the hell Clovis was cooking on that damn lab of his.

It has cost dearly, Gendo died on the truck, when a Knightframe shot them out of the road and slam them under a bridge in the ghetto, Zero has told them how he has found the dead rebel and the canister, emptying it safely. The gas has been destroyed before it could cause any more damage. On a side note, Lelouch had to tell this between his clenched teeth but it was too early for them, he had to win, Never force, win their trust again, to build true bonds of loyalty with his Knights, his friends and allies. Then, Zero give them weapons, and the Yamato Alliance almost felt on their asses after the victory after victory they have been achieving. But all good things must meet an end and suddenly Zero has ordered to retreat, he and a bunch of fighters will cover their scape and deal with the bulk of the forces of Clovis after they had listened to the announcement of the general Asprius.

More than a hundred enemies will override the Ghetto to get them and Zero has just laugh softly and tell them exactly what was going to do about it. At this point, Kallen was gaping like a fish, along the rest of the alliance of course.

"Zero...that's nuts and the most brilliant thing I have ever listen" congratulated Ohgi as they would evacuate the civilians, get them to safety, cut any possible chaser and deal a massive blow to the moral and numbers of the army of Clovis.

"I thank you Ohgi" for a second Zero sound like he was surprised for the words of Ohgi " now please, listen to me, this is how we are going to proceed" start Zero and in a moment, he gave them the perfect strategy to the evacuating.

"Thanks for the save Zero" smiled Ohgi on the radio.

"Yeah, the man has just saved our asses" laughed Tamaki in the back "he has even given us some new beautiful toys to play".

"Glad you like it, Tamaki Shinichiro" commented Zero and the said man smile disappear on his face.

"Buh?!" said the man, he has never said his full name, not even once during all the battle.

"How?!" shouted Kallen almost grabbing the radio of Ohgi, who was as amazed and worried as her.

"Please do not fear" tried to calm Lelouch all of them with his usual calm and smooth voice " I knew of the Yamato Alliance before, as I knew of the Blood of the Samurai of general Kurabe, and other several rebel militias, like the Shaitama group of Yoshi Kumo".

"I came here to help and when I saw Q-1..." the voice stopped for a second.

Back in the cabin of the _Sutherland_ borrowed from Villetta Nu, Lelouch had to cut the transmission and take a second to control his emotions, Q-1, another way of say Queen-One, his fierce red queen of war and victory. By Pandora, it was wonderful hear them again, Kallen, Ohgi, Tamaki, Inoue, Yoshida, Kagesaki.

"_I promise you, C world be dammed, Britannia be dammed, I will protect and save you all"_ swore Lelouch in his mind and his golden and black aura envelop the insides of the _Sutherland_ of Villetta for a little, causing a lot of distress in the machine, unable to compensate the sudden and brutal output of energy. Calming himself, he restored the communication with the rebel group.

" My apologies" said Lelouch reconnecting with the evacuation caravan " a sudden spike in the Knightmare I am using, it´s a borrowed and old machine with a lot of temper" he joked.

"Who are you Zero?" asked Kallen and Lelouch grimaced, By Pandora, he would love to tell her, specially her; everything and harakiri himself if it is what is needed to win their forgiveness, but the charade must continue, at last for a little longer.

"I can´t answer that" replied him " not now at last, but I will call you again, so much I can promise you Q-1, Kallen Stadtfeld".

Lelouch cut the radio with a thought and took a minute to recover, crunching the useless controls of the Knightmare in his hand during the process. He has lie in the face to all of them once again, he has toyed with them like they were his chess pieces.

Breathing, slowly breathing and recovering the calm, he let his power stabilize, if he wasn't cautious, his energy will be picked by a factsphere and send all his plans into the trash bin, it was too soon for his existence as a Campione to be know to the occult side of the world. This sick world has tamed the supernatural the hard way, confining them in the C world, only the Geass and the codes allowed existance in the modern world, where the science is the supreme art. With a though, he open the cabin of the _Sutherland_ and preparing himself for what is about to come, he got down the machine, walking to the green haired woman sat in the edge of the rooftop where he has been hiding from the scouts and everyone else

She turned her face at him, and Lelouch felt his heart torn apart, she was trying to hide it, behind her usual indifferent and stoic face, but after so long and after seeing her suffer for what it has seems centuries, Lelouch know better. The first emotion he has provoked in his beautiful and witty witch, was none other than fear.

Wonderful job Lelouch, twice the excelsior for you, pal.

When she awoke inside the cabin, C.C look at him with veiled interest but when his aura and his powers to control the machine without ever looking at it made themselves evident, fear appeared in her eyes. That hurt him deeper than any sword in the world, he will Never cause her harm, he has done worse than that, and in all honesty, he firmly believed he deserved all the hate the immortal witch could throw at him. To the surprise of C.C, Lelouch fell to one knee and extended his hands, to pick one of hers, at the beginning, she flinched at the touch, noticing with no little curiosity, how hurt the boy seems to be for her fear, however the warmness of the hand, the posture in the boy, his eyes.

The boy loved her, and not an obsessive way like Mao, this boy was hurt, deeply, deeply hurt, but the Marianne boy has never meet her. How come he blame himself for something he has never done?.

"My witch" he whispered kissing the tips of her fingers.

Just that, and C.C need all her force of will suppress a shiver run her spine, the mix of his lips on her skin and the voice, was seriously bringing her back some emotions that she believed has lost long ago.

"I am sorry, I am very sorry" pressing his forehead against her hands, he kept talking and with each word, the surprise in the expression of C.C grew bigger and bigger.

"I failed you my witch, I couldn't give you, what you desire, I couldn't free you from the curse of the Code".

The immortal girl eyes almost felt from her sockets, the boy knew about Geass and codes?!, how?!, with a sudden inspiration, C.C pick up his face and kissed the boy on the lips, starting the awakening of Geass.

She was in for a surprise.

Seven hundred years was a lot of time, and in all that time, you went accustom to a lot of things, good and bad. Since the begging of her curse, when the Code was imposed on her, C.C has seen and experienced a thousand of things, from the worst the humanity has to offer, to the most incredible feats of bravery and kindness.

What she has never seen; was Pandora.

The childish goddess was waiting for her in the C world, the little purple haired deity, grab her before she slammed her head into the _Authority_ of Mordred. Entering, like her was about to do, in the essence of a divine being was a very, very bad idea, that could cause her tremendous harm, perhaps even kill her. With a slap in the back of the head, Pandora eyed the green haired witch who just stare at the massive amount of power that the little girl was; finally and with a teasing grin that C.C took good note to try to imitate at some point, the little girl levitate a little and kiss her forehead.

The goddess had taken all the memories of Lelouch, from the day he first meet C.C in the previous dimension to the ill fated day on where she died at the hands of the mad Schneizel, and how Lelouch felt during all the time he has pass being tortured in his own private hell.

"Now you go, girl" slapped Pandora, C.C astral ass, making her go with a yelp, into the conscious of Lelouch, so she could see what true power was " take care of my boy, will ya?, this one is special and I like him a lot" smiled the playful goddess, retreating back into the C world.

Confused as she has never been in her life since she was a little peasant girl, C.C enter into the mind of Lelouch and for her it was like entering into the sun.

Gold and black.

The love Lelouch felt for his precious people.

Her heart did all kind of flip flops, when she saw how her name and face was accounted among those, but couldn't but felt a pang of jealousy at the other women in the memories.

The brilliance of his mind.

His unbreakable desire for victory.

His ruthlessness against his enemies.

His coldness against those who oppose him.

Gold and Black.

[Black King]

Overwhelmed by the power inside the soul of her warlock, C.C activated the process of the Geass, however, there was already a Geass in him, the power of Mordred, the power of absolute obedience, was the right and obligation of Lelouch.

"_Do you wish the power of Kings?"_ ask C.C and this time, there was doubt and surprise in her voice and not the usual tempting and solemn voice.

"_For you, my Witch"_ came the warm and loving answer of Lelouch "_ so I could finally give you; your true, deepest, desire"._

The contract sealed, the Geass clicking into the humongous power of Mordred, a piece of the puzzle who is back with his rightful master.

Back in the real world, Lelouch was frozen, not that he did not secretly love the kiss, C.C has always been one of the most beautiful women he has ever meet, but after sensing her consciousness slip in him, and how she was getting to close to his _Authority, _he feared for the safety of the woman. However, and for his infinity relief, the question came back to his mind, and he answered without a doubt, he felt the Geass entering in him, changing him, the power of obedience settling nicely within his _Authority._

That was odd. This should have been redundant, instead, the geass of C.C clicked inside his _Authority_ like it was made to be like that.

"What have you done, my incorrigible witch?" muttered Lelouch to the unconscious but healthy C.C, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms without any worry in the world.

Eying his watch, Lelouch listened to the sounds of the army of Clovis converging into their position, even after the stunt he was about to pull, he knew that the _Lancelot_ will be the hero of the day.

Something that was perfectly ok for him, after all, this action was the one that will create the path that will lead to Suzaku and Euphy together, By Pandora, is the least he can do to try to win the forgiveness of the couple. But before he started to build castles in the clouds, there was another point of the day schedule that called for his attention. He hated what he was about to do, after what has happened in his memories, he knew that there couldn't be any other way but still, he didn't like it at all, this was one of those pivotal points that can not be prevented.

And if it could be, Lelouch still felt that his half-brother Clovis should pay for what he has been doing to C.C for years. Call him hypocrite if you want, but then the blood of your family and loved ones is spilled, all bets are off. No one will stand in his way, he has a lot of atonement to do.

How right were you, Kirihara Taizo, even if he had the best of the intentions, Lelouch will walk the Path of the Carnage, like it or not.

Mordred seems to have found one identical to him...

Underground, and protected by a dozen of _Sutherlands_, the caravan of the survivors of the Ghetto was finally reaching the exit point of the zone designed by Zero. There was a little nervousness among the Yamato alliance after the last words of Zero, specially Kallen, he knew of her identity, and that put her in a very risky and dangerous situation, specially among the rest of the Britannians that attend along her, the Ashford Academy. Ohgi has tried to quell her fears, if the man wanted something for her, she would have already now, not to mention, that he could have show her status as half blood anytime at the Academy and her cover as a meek and sick girl was still standing.

With a sight, Kallen took aim with one of her slash harkens and shoot the metallic harpoon at the point Zero has told them to do. When the world collapse behind the caravan, cutting all possibility of being chased, she could only imagine what could be the faces of the Britannian fuckers out there, and in the safety of her own cabin, she had a feral grin that would make the devil proud.

"_This is for Naoto, you fuckers!"_ shouted inside her mind _"thank you, Zero for this opportunity to enact some retribution, but who are you? and why did you call my name with pained tenderness?"._

"This can not be..." whispered Villetta when he saw how the entire army of Clovis, the hundred units, Knightmares and tanks in equality, where obliterated when the floor under them collapse, bringing all of them to a certain doom. Barely a dozen of the soldiers deployed has still their IFF in green and not with the ominous symbol of LOST, bleeping in the tactical screen of the G-1. As stunned as her, was Jeremiah, completely fascinated for what has happened and unable to say a word, he has seen the best of Britannia fall today and that has been one of the worst blow, his already trembling conscience could take.

Along the Orange incident, the moment that really screw him up, this was perhaps one of the reasons, Jeremiah started to lost his mind and slowly becoming the pawn of V.V and Charles, it wasn't until years later that he discovered the truth and recognized how idiotic he has been for years. But right now, the only thing that remained in the astonished command room of the G-1, was a dead silence; they could only witness in silence, how the mighty army of Britannia, has been vanquished completely, by a rebel militia of the Area Eleven.

The night news are going to be a total humiliation.

The desperation was perhaps, the decisive factor in the deployment of the _Lancelot._

After all, the Engineering corps, under the patronage of Prime minister Schneizel and under the eccentric, yet absolute genius; Earl Loyd, was dying for a chance to test his latest prototype in the field and finally see if the shit ton of Imperial pounds wasted in the development of this Knightmare was worth the shot.

And boy, it was worth it, despite all the flaws of the eccentric earl, Loyd know what he was doing and the _Lancelot_ was one of the most amazing pieces of tech ever made, and the base for a thousand of different future models. Rakshata and Loyd had a constant duel about who could pull the best piece of tech in the field, and Lelouch had use that rivalry to the maximum, being as Zero or as Demon Emperor. Lelouch was not very sure about how was going to react the Indian woman, when Lelouch will show her, his power over all machinery under his command.

Suzaku was the chosen pilot for the experimental frame, after all, he was an expendable Honorary Britannian and if all the things went boom, it will not much of a loss. As a side note, Loyd did protest about how does it seem that the people always thought the worst about of him; considering the situation, no one payed much attention to the crazy Earl but when Clovis, already in the edge of a nervous breakdown, give him permission to deploy the machine along with the pilot, his attitude did a 180ª and soon run to activate the machine.

It performed flawlessly in the field, he cleaved trough the enemy _Sutherland_ like they were made of butter, thanks to his unique protective shield and MVS sword, two prototypes still in development, but Loyd see no reason to inform Private Kururugi about those little details. The absence of ejection system was too a little detail in his opinion. The _Lancelot_ was a perfect machine, and with a skilled pilot like Suzaku, a trained martial artist, the machine could do amazing feats in the battlefield.

Activating his landspinners, Suzaku run into the battlefield, running contrary to the ruins and wreckage of an entire platoon of _Sutherlands, _following the signals of the supposed enemies, the sensors of the _Lancelot_ were top-notch and he was more than happy to have such a great machine under his command. He felt honored that the Officers had enough trust in him, to allow him to became the pilot of the machine and could put an end to this horrible scene by stopping the terrorist before they drag more victims with them.

If only the poor bastard known.

The one that has shot him was a member of the Purist Faction and he had the support of almost the entire Britannian military, the honorary had almost no rights, in fact one has to pass years in the army for even the privilege of carrying a firearm, no matter if you were in the middle of a war zone or patrolling the geriatrics of Pendragon. The Britannians he was so loyal, where the ones calling the massacre, not giving a shit about the numbers of Area Eleven and in fact, all of his unit will celebrate if his death was among the casualties of the battle. Numbers are not precisely welcome in the military. The Earl that has give him a chance, and perhaps it was for the simple reason that he preferred an eleven to blow up along his machine, in case of catastrophically failure, instead of a son of Britannia.

In resume, despite his firmly and honorable belief in that he was doing the correct thing, Kururugi Suzuki couldn't be more mistaken. But considering his own tragic past and how the boy has lived all his life trying to pay for what he did; in his heart, the chance of being able to become a pilot was something that he thanked from the bottom of his heart.

Once again, as it has been previously said...

Poor bastard.

Lost a little in the rush of the machine, at the Knightmare frame was almost an extension of himself, Suzaku almost cleaved in half a _Sutherland_ with the markings of the Purist Faction, however the pilot of the machine was skilled enough to dodge the attack.

"What?!" roared a commanding digitized voice from the radio " Who are you? Unit and rank!".

Suzaku swore that the _Lancelot_ almost saluted, military style, to the officer in front of him.

"Private Kururugi Suzaku, honorary Britannian" replied Suzaku " Acting as pilot for the _Lancelot_ under the Special unit of the A.S.E.E.C".

"An Eleven?, crazy wankers" cursed under his breath the officer " keep going Private, I have to return to G-1 for recharge, my _Sutherland_ is almost out of juice".

"Do you want me to escort you?" asked Suzaku always happy to lend a hand, even if the officer has already dismissed him like an unworthy number.

"No need, we need as many capable soldier on the field as we can find" denied the knight " we are already short handed enough, good luck private" waved the knightmare to the _Lancelot_ signaling one of the broken avenues.

"Yes, Sir!" replied Suzaku and activate his landspinners, running in the direction that the knight has pointed.

Why in kamis name, was the voice of the officer so familiar to him?.

Said officer, being none other than Lelouch, was already laughing his ass off, for the little prank he has pull on Suzaku.

Being honest, he almost had a heart attack when the swords of the _Lancelot _cut through the corner he was about to turn, fortunately, he was quick enough to bullshit his way out of the situation, and what it was best, he has sent Suzaku into a wild goose chase.

The rest of the rebels pilots were already retreating from the ghetto, and in that direction, there will only be a pair of slowpokes, who will eject as soon as the _Lancelot_ kick their assess. This was a little divergence that he didn't expect, but in all honesty, and deep within him, Lelouch wanted the past to change, not only because it will mean that he has managed to prevent the same tragedies, but to put his new found Campione powers to test. At a good speed, Lelouch moved the poor Villetta Knightmare into the retreating form of the G-1. He had the sleeping from of C.C in his arms, and with tenderness, caresing her hair and back meanwhile she was sleeping after whatever she has done to the geass and the contract.

He should have to ask later to C.C, what has she done for the geass, after all, it should have been nothing but a formality, he had something much better now, but anyhow, the witty witch has managed to change the rules once again. It was time to put and end to the Shinjuku battle, and Lelouch had a family reunion to attend, one that was not looking forward, after he has promised himself that he would do things differently, but for the pieces of the domino to fall into a place, he will have to kill Clovis for the second time.

The machine of Villetta hummed as the batteries of the Yggdrasil drive start to falter; soon all the energy of the machine will deplete, not that it worried Lelouch, the only worry he has now, was to took care of C.C and prepare for the confrontation against Clovis.

To say the aftermath of the skirmish was tense, would be the understatement of the century.

All the personnel of G-1 has left Prince Clovis alone in the command tower of the behemoth, thanks to the success of the _Lancelot_ he could have a victory to flaunt in the faces of the press, those vultures where always around, looking for an excuse to crucify him. Clovis was not a general, for fucks sake, he was only the governor of this Area because the rest of the heirs were too busy dealing with other Areas, and they didn't want to be there, when the shit hit the fan.

The elevens are one of the most stubborn bastards that he has ever meet, almost every day there is another militia or rebel bunch of cretins that blow up something or kidnap somebody and then everybody came running to the governor villa to cry a river to him about the bloody dammed terrorist. They are like cockroaches!.

You stomp one rebel group, and the next day twice more had formed, couldn't see they had lost?!, are they all nuts?!. Jaton or Jopan or whatever the hell this cesspool was called before they were conquered, was now, part of the Glorious Empire of Britannia. Clovis snorted in the darkness of the command room, taking a long shot from the whiskey on the rocks, he had in one hand.

Glorious Empire?, his pale, blonde, ass.

Despite how the rest of the idiots around him see him, Clovis was not an idiot, he simply didn't care for those under him, if you are not Britannian nobility, then get the fuck out, you are only sullying the presence of your betters. So difficult was to understand?.

Viceroy of Area Eleven was a title that has brought him nothing but headaches.

On the bright side of life, he has to admit that despite the constant barks of the rebels, this was a very comfortable position with a lot of perks, like the beautiful ladies that were always around and the beaches of the different islands. He couldn't understand why some designers had rejected her ideas for swimsuits, they were perfect and will allow all the ladies to show their gorgeous bodies, those retrograde bastards had no real idea of what ladies wants.

But enough ramblings, this was the worst day of his career and what is worst, he has lost the damn witch. Father was going to flay him alive for that, Code R was one of the most dangerous secrets in the Britannian government, when he discovered about the existence of this green haired bitch, he believed he has just hit the jackpot. An immortal!, lets roll that again, a fucking, living, kicking and gorgeous immortal woman of cold yellow eyes and green mint hair.

The secret of the immortality should have been his, he will take the secret from her body and once he was immortal, he would only have to patiently wait for his dear brothers to simply die in old age, along his most esteemed father. Oh, don't take him wrong, he loved his family.

He always made time to pay a visit to Aries Villa and have a game of chess with Lelouch, start a painting for Euphy or Nunnaly, Marianne was always kind to him and Cornelia or Schneizel had no problems in chatting with him. Those were good, innocent days, the only regret is to never had won a single chess game with Lelouch, but he took comfort in the fact that Lelouch has never won one against Schneizel.

That was a snake in a man skin.

In all honesty?, Schneizel scared the shit outta him.

He was a genius, even more than Lelouch, who was possible the smartest boy he has ever meet but contrary to Lelouch that was a more kind hearted boy, the Second Prince of Britannia was the coldest son of a bitch he has never had the displeasure to meet. It was a relief that Schneizel loved his family and had taken a liking for Lelouch and Nunnaly, he said that they were the most brilliant and promising children of the Imperial family and being completely honest with himself, Clovis had to agree in that analysis.

Odysseus was a good bitch that does as father said, no doubts allowed, Guinevere and Carine, please don't make him start on those two hussies, Cornelia confused her gender during childbirth and Euphy was too sweet for the throne.

Schneizel was simple even worse than father, at last with the old giant you know that he is displeased because he just kick your ass with those fist like hams of him, but in Schneizel case, it was an entirely different game. He would burn your family, collect their ashes, make bread with them and invite you to a picnic, on where he will offer you some of the most delicious sandwiches you had ever tasted; all without even losing that arrogant smirk of him.

Sighing and slowly feeling into the worst possible depression, Clovis served himself another drink, if he got piss off drunk, the better, when father discover about the disappearance and lost of C.C, his life was forfeit. Father has always been most vocal in the " punish the failures" part of the Holy Imperial doctrine, for what Clovis has heared, he was not even against exercising those same punishment himself or that lapdog of his Bismarck.

The Knight of One was one piece of work.

Loyal to the end and with the strength to back his mouth, for what Clovis remembered, only Marianne the Flash has been able to shut his mouth, well, this goes for you Lelouchs mom, you were hot as hell and could kick Father ass at the same time; mayor kudos girl. Clovis emptied the glass and pour another drink into the crystal, adding a pair of ice blocks now that the original were almost melted. Like a zombi, he walked back to the throne of the command room and silently rub his forehead, only the soft humming of the computers and the motors could be heard in the soft darkness of the room.

The sun has already set about an hour ago, and the logistic nightmare that it was carry and repair all the wreckage of the battle was something that he didn't even wanted to think about. Asprius could deal with that shit, he was there for that kind of bullshit to deal with, right now, Clovis only wanted a drink and the rest of the world to suicide themselves in empathy with his problems. That brings him another question to his mind, what the fuck is he supposed to do with that eleven that has piloted the _Lancelot_?.

That crazy nutjob of Loyd was almost pirouetting around the machinery of the _Lancelot_ when he saw the numbers, the number, ha, easy pun that one; was capable of squeeze from the first prototype of the seventh generation of Knightmares the A.S.S.C was capable of produce. And it was a piece of art in white and gold, he has kicked the asses of those pesky rebels and what it was best, he has done it all after he thanked them for allowing him that chance!.

Could you believe this idiot?!, the poor cretin even thanked Loyd for giving the chance to prove himself, an eleven!, if it wasn't for how papa bear Loyd was with the _Lancelot_ and his pilot, Clovis would have put a bullet in the head of the little eleven stain and give the damn thing to a real Noble of Britannia. That would have been a good gift for the Emperor, ah, shit, Loyd was one of the pets of Schneizel, that means the pudding earl was untouchable for the moment, he will have to cook up some accident to get him out of scene and stole the data of the prototype. If Clovis managed to build one of those, with that shiny shield and cut through all MVS, and present it to the Emperor, he will recover the favor of the court and at the same time will steal Schneizel toys all under his bloody nose.

And he could even say that it was for the good of the Empire, as all the technicians and data of the research was already in Area Eleven and would be a terrible pity to not study it further now that they had found a compatible, _Britannian_ pilot. Perhaps even Margrave Gottwald could be used to present the _Lancelot_ to his father; Clovis could imagine the presentation: look father, the same useless guard that allow Marianne to die is the crash dumm..err, sorry, test pilot for the first seventh generation Knightframe of the Holy Empire of Britannia.

Now, things started to get better, well, it will be risky but at the end, Clovis will keep his head over his shoulders and his position as Viceroy, or not, perhaps he should ask for a better position after delivering such wonderful presents to father. Dear Lord, how he missed Pendragon.

The capital was something that enticed him, where all the vices, desires and pleasures could be satisfied for the appropriate price and if we are talking about money, being the Third Prince of the Empire does come with a substantial allowance. How in bloody hell, should him have been able to finance his labs otherwise?, experimenting and researching over the immortal whore of Babylon is pretty expensive actually, and now that he thought about it, it has been years and those scientist fuckers continue without presenting some real result of all the money he has invested in the investigation.

Clovis took a sip from his glass and contemplate the possibilities in front of him, perhaps he could blame all of this disaster to some other country, EU and China are being restless, and rumors of war are still floating in the air. If he could present some bullshit proofs, not real, just enough to point fingers to EU or China about how they have been sniffing around C.C and the Code R, whatever the fuck it was. He only wanted the immortality, not some kind of stubborn whore that only look at them with hate.

"Damn it, why all has to be this complicated?" sighed in the empty room.

"Life tend to be" replied an unknown voice that startled Clovis, the glass slipped from his hand and smashed against the floor " and that's a waste of a very good drink".

"Who are you?!" shouted Clovis raising from the throne with the heart drumming on his chest for the sudden appearance of this intruder, he was going to execute him ten times, he has just offer volunteer for Frame shooting practice...as living target.

"Don't you recognize my voice?" chuckled the voice as the slim lights of the command room start to glow brighter, something that Clovis hadn't ordered but he pay no mind, more focus in the intruder " I should feel offended, but I suppose it has been quite a while".

"Stop talking nonsense and show yourself!" demanded Clovis, regretting deeply not carrying a weapon around, and speaking about that, how the hell has managed this intruder to enter?, and why the fuck are not the guards already barging in to subdue this bastard?.

He has push the silent alarm button under the armchair of the throne as soon as the man has appeared, he has given explicit orders of do not bother him with nothing less than the apocalypse itself, and after the exemplar lesson he gave by executing a general for questioning his orders, he was sure that no sane man will ever disobey his orders.

"As you wish dear half-brother" chuckled the voice.

The lights illuminated the room enough for Clovis to saw the regal features of the intruder, his piercing deep eyes glowing with the dim light of the room, everything in him look majestic, like the royalty was part of him. Clovis almost had a heart attack, standing in front of him was the ghost of the Eleventh Prince of Britannia, Lelouch Vi Britannia. With a flourished bow, Lelouch bowed in mockery to Clovis.

"Eleventh Prince of Brittania, Lelouch Vi Brittania present himself in front of you, your Highness" the amusement and mockery about the formal introductions of the court, vibrated in the tone of Lelouch.

Clovis backpedaled and fall over his ass on the throne, complete astonishment marring his features, his eyes were wide open in disbelief, this was impossible, Lelouch died in the Pacific wars when Britannia swept the floor with this eleven excuses of humanity, this can not be, he can not be alive.

" ..." gaped Clovis, still not believing what he was seeing.

"Hello Clovis" smiled Lelouch walking into the brighter lights of the room, so Clovis could see him better, however, that said Prince was sprawled on his command throne, gaping like a fish out of the water and staring in disbelief.

"Oh, please brother" smiled Lelouch and Clovis swallowed a lump in his throat, how little did he like that smile, it had a predatory quality that scared him " I am not that ugly, I'm not?".

"N-no-no...not at all" recover the voice Clovis "I...I don't know what to say".

"Understandable" sighed Lelouch "I would be at a loss of words like you, if a ghost from the past just appeared in my worst moment".

"Yes, well, today has been stressful" snorted Clovis, letting his heart slow and eying the glass in the floor " fancy a drink to celebrate your resurrection?" joked Clovis, still sweating from the surprise and the unspeakable dread that he felt from Lelouch, like he was a predator and Clovis just a juicy piece of bloodied meat.

"Most definitely" said Lelouch " but please brother, let me prepare the drinks, an old scotch on the rocks for you I assume".

"Well, yes, thanks" blinked Clovis "suit yourself, the bar, is right behind that console" pointed out to a screen in the side of the room.

With a smile, Lelouch walked to the bar and after manipulating the buttons of the console, it opened and revealed to be a setup for hid a very well stocked bar.

"Ingenious" commented Lelouch searching among the bottles, scotch for Clovis, and a taste of that ten years old Area 24; previously know as Spain; red wine, hidden behind the rest of the bottle and glasses.

He didn't even need to look back to see that Clovis has pushing the silent alarm in the throne, with a frustrated expression growing at each push of the button, finally, he did surrender and push another button, revealing a hidden gun in the back of the throne. Lelouch poured the two drinks in a pair of glasses, delighting himself with the soft wooden aroma of the wine, as a personal promise, he has sworn himself that this time, he will learn to live the life.

Enough hermit and sociopath has he been in the previous live, this time, he pretended to live his life to the fullest, whatever life he had left; after all, considering that he was about to declare war to the most powerful country of the world, his life expectancy was up to debate.

And, By Pandora, this time he has gonna get laid...err...that has been very, very disturbing but valid nonetheless, he has been so occupied with his vengeance that he had been blind to the feelings of the women in his life. From the feisty Kallen to the sweet Shirley; this time, he promised to pay more attention, not very sure how, he was a Devil King, not a love counselor, but the challenge was very, very interesting and...

"Tjem" coughed Clovis with a loud snap of the gun in his hand, allocating a bullet on the chamber of the cannon " now, whoever you are, you are going to pay for impersonating my half-brother".

"**[Drop the gun, Clovis]"** said Lelouch, his eyes morphing into the red geass.

Clovis let the gun fall to the ground, his eyes reflecting the avian symbol for a second but soon he shook his head and stared at disbelief how the gun was in the floor and Lelouch was offering him a glass of whiskey on the rocks.

"I think you need this" smiled Lelouch putting the glass with the ice blocks and the amber liquid, in the hands of the stunned Clovis and sitting him on the throne with a gentle but firm push.

Lelouch picked up the gun and examined it with curiosity, it was not the usual bulky weapon of the infantry, however this was a 45ACP, even with only five bullets in the clip, the kick of this mule was more than enough to stop anyone and possibly seriously hurt any person, even with a ballistic armor protecting the body.

Nasty piece of warfare, you are beautiful.

"Who are you?" trembled Clovis at the image of the thing that acted like his half-brother, he loved Lelouch, he loved to play chess with him, even if he beat the crap out of him in each game, he loved the kind and funny violet eyed boy.

This was a monster in human skin, his brother skin.

"Clovis" sighed Lelouch " I am Lelouch, believe me".

"Bullshit" deadpanned Clovis and immediately regretted those words.

"Oh?" raised and eyebrow Lelouch and take a sip of his wine, savoring the strong taste of the wine " and why I am not Lelouch exactly?".

"Lelouch was a wonderful kid" answered Clovis gulping down his drink in one go, trying to make sense of the situation " not a monster like you".

"People change Clovis" replied Lelouch with infinite sadness in his voice " specially when everything you believe, is shatter in front of your eyes and the world, only laughs at the ashes of everything you had ever loved".

Twirling the gun in his hand, Lelouch pick it from the canon and offered the handle to Clovis who just stare at him in confusion, not really understanding a shit about what he has said but still recognizing the tone of a war veteran with too many emotional scars to be sane. Still, he picked up the gun, even if it useless, he need the support of the weapon, it was always comfortable to be the armed one in any situation.

"I was a sacrifice Clovis" explained Lelouch circling the wine inside the glass "after mother was killed in Aries Villa in middle day, and Nunnaly crippled for life, I went to father" remembered Lelouch what happen in the past.

"I demanded answers from him, I demanded justice for the deaths of Aries Villa, I demanded vengeance" shrugged Lelouch " I was a ten years old arrogant child and father just taught me where my place was, with his fists".

Clovis blinked a pair of times and drink from his scotch, that was not what happened, he remembered how Lelouch barged into the court and appeared in front of father demanding justice but Father just dismissed him like he was lesser than a number. But he didn't hit Lelouch, not that Clovis remembered.

"Ah, you don't remember" chuckled Lelouch reading the expression of Clovis accurately " not really a surprise, he did it in front of all the court and not a single soul raise a finger" sighed Lelouch.

"Look, Lelouch" started Clovis who was starting to see a light at the end of his dark day, if he managed to bring Lelouch back, he could always sell the history of how his soldiers battled to free the Eleventh prince of Britannia " Father can be an ass sometimes".

Lelouch laughed at that remark.

"But, its good to have you back half-brother" continued Clovis ignoring the laugh, that laugh was dangerous, had the promise of pain hid inside it " We can send you back to Homeland, to announce the world that you are back, Cornelia and Euphy will be dancing in joy at the news".

Lelouch grip over the wine glass tightened and the glass shatter, none of the shards piercing his new resilient skin, the vivid memories of the fate of the two sisters resurfacing on his mind, two horrid fates created by his arrogant and stupid hand.

"Excuse me" apologize Lelouch walking to the bar and picking a napkin to clean the mess of his hand, such a waste of good wine.

Clovis just shut the hell up immediately, for fuck sakes, the temperature of the room has fallen ten degrees and a cold and ominous shiver run his spine, filling him with dread.

"Pendragon...I don't really want to go back to that accursed place" and Clovis almost spit the sip of whiskey he was taking to quell his nerves.

"Burf?!...what?!" snorted Clovis almost chocking.

"The Capital hold nothing to me Clovis, of all the place only Aries Villa holds good memories for me, the rest could burn in hell for what I care" waved Lelouch with his hands " not to mention, that it will be unnecessary difficult for me to orchestrate the fall of Britannia under the gaze of that waste of human being of Charles Il Britannia".

Second time in less than an hour that a glass falls to the ground, fortunately, this time, it didn't shatter, just roll abandon and forgotten, spilling the expensive scotch inside it over all the metallic surface of the floor of the command room.

Clovis just stared in silence, completely taken off by the bold declaration of Lelouch, in his mind, Lelouch was just asking for a bullet in his head, war against Britannia?, are you out of your freaking mind?, they will vaporize you, and if Father get a sniff of your presence, he will drag you into Pendragon in chains and then execute you with his bare hands if its needed.

"Hadn't you realized already Clovis?" chuckled Lelouch " not really a surprise you always loose at chess, you always rushed and fall into all my traps".

"You!" shouted the blond prince, pointing to Lelouch with his gun, rage substituting fear and precaution, he was the bastard that has cost all!, for his fault, he was as good as death, fucked up beyond measure, politically and publicly.

"Me!" pointed to himself Lelouch in a mocking imitation of the stunned reaction of Clovis, don't really giving a flying crap about the gun pointed at his head.

"Oh, yes, me" chuckled darkly Lelouch and the grip of Clovis over his gun trembled a little " I have return from hell and I will change everything" extended his arms in a grandiose gesture, for a second, all the G-1 lights and energy systems flared in a golden and black aura, echoing with the power of the [Black King].

Clovis almost peed his pants at the display, this was supernatural, this was way better than any parlor tricks he has ever attended in galas and parties of Pendragon. This was real, and it scared him like nothing has ever done.

"If only you could know..." trailed Lelouch looking in the eyes of Clovis with his red and demonic eyes glowing in the darkness, now, it was official, Clovis has done it on his pants but the real event was when Geass acted by his own.

Lelouch didn't know what has happened, he felt a sting in his eyes and how the familiar felling of a geass activating and doing his magic over the mind of his victim, in this case Clovis who stand frozen and terrified in front of him.

A single tear of blood drip from the right eye of Lelouch, and he cleaned it with surprise, this was something completely new for him, and the reaction of Clovis astonished him even more.

"Oh?!,God!, Oh God!" repeated like a madman trembling in fear and unfortunately, removing the lump of shit in his pants, that was nasty, but still he grab his head in panic and desperation " Oh dear god, why?, but how?, are you all crazy insane?, this is bullshit?!".

It was official, Clovis was broken, his mind has been plagued with a thousand memories, each one of those worse than the previous, about his own death, about Zero rebellion, about the war of the Demon Emperor, about the Zero requiem and about the living hell that followed the little paradise that was created on earth by Lelouch sacrifice. The horror was too much, and now that all the living hell Lelouch has suffered, repeating in an eternal loop how his dream became nightmare in front of his eyes, how all he loved was destroyed in the name of a hollow ambition. With a soul rendering shriek, Clovis put the cannon of the pistol on his mouth and pull the trigger.

Brain matter, blood and fragments of skull bone splattered over the crystal wall of the command room; when a hits point blank against the human palate, it is like a knightmare has stomped a watermelon.

The results are a bloody mess.

However, Lelouch was completely unaffected by the brutal suicide of his half-brother, after all it was the second time he has seen him die. What he did shook him was how has it happened. Geass, it has something to do with his geass but it was impossible, despite his immense power,[Black King] has not the power to bring back memories, is the tool of a King, not the tool of a bard or a history teller. Then he smiled warmly, walking to one of the computers in the command room, C.C, that was the only explanation; she has done something to his Geass, changed the base of the power of the king, into something that really clicked well with the _Authority_ that was the true and purest from of Geass.

He should have to thank his witch at a later, that is, if she didn't hate his guts and tried to kill him of course, after what has happened before, he hoped that she will accept him, but the fear in her eyes was still haunting his thoughts. Now, it was time to experiment a little with his powers, so far, his _Authority _ has been a godsend, ha, pun totally intended; to deal with everything in his path, the power of the [Black King], the power of true obedience has his perk.

Specially the part on where he is capable of controlling machines with his mere thought. When Clovis died, all his authority over the G-1 has been immediately transferred to him, the highest ranking Britannian right now in the place, so that means, G-1 was his, and if it was his, he could exercise his _Authority _over the colossal vehicle without a hitch. It was very similar as how the machine of Villetta has obeyed him as soon as its owner, the mocha skinned Knight of Honor, has relinquished the keys and the code of activation to Lelouch.

This opened an entire new tree of possibilities for his plans, this world was so obsessed with tech, that machinery was all around the place, and the only thing he need to dominate said tech was to be recognized as owner or the owner be under Lelouch domain. He still held his horses as he didn't know exactly the number of machines he could command, how much does it cost and weights on his mind, if all machines are the same or there was exceptions. So far, he knew that every machine under his banner will obey him without fail, the pivotal point of all, was the under his command part.

He has to be the commander officer, the leader, the person in charge, whatever, however, as it has happened to Villetta, if he just dominated the person with the [Black King] version of the Geass, that would mean that the machine, was his too. Speaking about the [Black King], it was like a bigger, nastier and mature form of Geass, he still need to have his objective in sight, and that means in physical sight, machines and recordings does not serve for the purposes of activation but it does allow him to give orders to those who has already fallen into his domination.

Once dominated, the hold of the [Black King] in those under him last forever or until the demise of the king or the follower. And that, send a pang of guilty and regret inside him, he has forever put Villetta under his command, effectively thralling her...

Fuck, there goes all his good intentions to do things right this time.

Fortunately, he could release Villetta of her forced servitude, and...done.

She will not remember anything but she will not be thralled by the [Black King] anymore.

Lelouch grumbled under his breath, this _Authority_ was a constant learning curve and he had the suspicion that Mordred, the one that has answered the call of Pandora when he became a Campione, was still holding a lot of the real power of the _Authority._

That could be good thing, he didn't want to walk around like a living Yggdrasil drive, emanating enough energy to fuel ten _Sutherland _for hours. At the same time, he was deepening his understanding and control over the [Black King] most interesting features; the computers of the G-1 were revealing all the dark secrets of the Viceroy and Britannia inside Area Eleven and all he could have sniffed around the Chinese Federation and EU.

Revealing all the plans of the deceased Clovis, all the files of all Britannian, Chinesse and EU agents the blond fucker knew about in Area Eleven, all the information about the rebel groups, all the accounts Clovis has hid under the carpet, just in case he has to run with the tail between his legs. This was a gold mine, truly a pity he didn't have it the first time, but he was in a rush back then, and he only had his little Geass to play with, the _Authority_ was like comparing a bicycle to a Knightmare. He has to be very cautious with it, or he will be as drunk in power as he was in the past.

That didn't go well.

Transferring data and money to his own personal computers and accounts, hidden under a web of false business and pseudonyms that it will take an enormous amount of job, Lelouch milked dry the secret resources of the deceased Prince. It was the moment to vanish in the night and start working on the future, after all, the domino was still falling and he had a ton of things to do, if he wanted to start to pay for all the pain and suffering he has caused to his friends and allies.

But first comes first.

He walked out of the command room, thanks to his domain over the security guards, the silent alarm of the throne was switched off and all records of it activation, deleted from the databases of the G-1. He was a ghost in the system of the mobile base and to the senses of all the guards and personnel, that will simply ignore his presence and after he has left the place, all of them will ever forget that he even existed.

Pity he has to abandon the vehicle, it was tremendously useful but he will have to patiently wait for Rakshata to build his _Gawain_, he really loved that frame and his second incarnation, _Shinkiro_. He was going to freak out Rakshata when he would perfectly command the shield system of the machine. The absolute defense only weakness; as the Knight of Ten, Luciano Bradley, demonstrated when he fought him in the second Black Knight revolution; was the need to low down the shields, in order to shoot the Hadron cannons, a tech that was still in development, but now he could simply order the machine to raise a shield with a thought, bypassing the need of the keyboards that regulated and controlled the druid system.

A couple of soldiers escorted him to exit, the red avian symbol on his eyes, they will not remember anything of this after Lelouch released them from the grip of his _Authority_, but in the mean time, they will be a perfect escort and a very convincing cover for his presence here.

In a discrete corner of the military camp in the middle of the city, a bunch of soldiers were protecting an armored limousine, the driver, the soldiers, all of them had the avian geass on their eyes but they do act and move around like it was perfectly normal. After all, it was not the first time a Britannian noble walks in an out of the base, carrying reports, information or the last whim of the Prince, the soldiers were more than accustom to the eccentricities of the arrogant prick they had as commander and Viceroy.

It was not really a surprise that after the disastrous battle, even if they consider it a victory after that machine, the _Lancelot, _the soldiers and survivor pilots did harbor a grudge against the cretin that has lead all to them by the nose to a fucking death trap.

Jeremiah was checking the perimeter of the base, the bunks of the Purist Faction was a hornet nest after the disaster, half of the deployed Knights of Honor had perished in the collapsed sector of the ghetto, either buried alive under tons of rubble or by the secondary explosion of their machines, when tons of metal, stone and rubble smashed and crunched them like beer cans.

He was fuming in rage to say the least, but his training as Margrave and all his career as military took control of the brain and made him focus in what it is important, rather than; like the rest of the Purist except Villetta and one or two more; start looking for scapegoats. He was a soldier and a Knight to the bone, he has duties to perform and a crushing defeat be dammed if that impede him to be the exemplar of Britannian knight he has to be, for him, for the Purist and for the rest of the world. Jeremiah will show, that the knights are warriors of honour and duty.

If he just only could stop bullshitting himself with all that purist crap, Jeremiah will be much happier and could have started to heal his soul from the lost of the woman he secretly loved and the children that he failed to protect. The atmosphere in the camp was not much better to be true, all survivors were in low spirits, between casualties and wounded, some crippled for life; the numbers went way past the hundred and half casualties.

This was a disaster and Jeremiah had more than enough of it, this was not a military operation, this was just the tantrum of a kid whose favorite toy has been stolen and is trying to bullying everyone around until they give his toy back. Good men had perish today, good soldiers, loyal to Britannia, had fallen to the hands of the same bastards that killed Marianne children, they had frames and they were clever enough to grab Clovis by the nose and force his hands and forces into one of the best traps he has ever saw. Turning an incoming horde into a complete massacre.

If it weren't for how the Britannian has been the defeated today, Jeremiah will be most impress with however was the mastermind behind the rebels, it was clear that they were not the same bunch of misfits and lowlifes he almost caught in the ghetto. Jeremiah respected strength and skill, and the red G_lasgow_ he was hunting in the ghetto was one of the most talented pilots he has ever saw, it was another bitch slap to his pride, how one of the most talented pilots he has ever saw was among the rebels and the one that has saved the day and the pride of Britannia, was a damn number, riding the first Seventh Generation Knightframe _Lancelot _and achieving amazing feats of combat and piloting.

Well, at last the day has ended, and for the night, all the soldiers will be licking their wounds, for what Jeremiah cared, there will always be another battlefield, there will be another chance to restore the honor of the Knights of Honor and the Holy Empire of Britannia. He definitely will not listen to that hideous voice in his head, that simply asked:

Where, in the fucking hell, was the honor in massacring civilians?.

How on earth would have been Marianne proud of him after this shit?, she was from commoner blood, remember?, and she was the best there is.

Now as a part of the Purist faction, he disregarded almost everyone of non-pure Britannian origins and treated the non-military people like there were nothing but cattle, hiding behind the title of Margrave and his duty as a Knight to always obey and protect his lord. No matter if he wanted to strangle that blond pompous fool of Clovis with his _Sutherland_ more than once; him or too many of his own Purist faction for what it matters. Jeremiah was married to his job, and boy it was being one of the worst marriages the universe has ever seen. Eventually, the orange debacle would have made him go practically mad, and the surgery and the implanted Geass-canceller of his right eye would no precisely help him to recover his sanity, it was need the tragedy of the death of Shirley and how Lelouch almost killed him to discover that the man, was one of the most loyal and reliable knights in Britannia.

Once again, this world could have gone like that or even worst, and that would have being quite the rational think to happen, after all, what happen once, could happen twice.

Mind you, that there is a factor X in this equation, the trademark of the Campiones.

The Irrationality.

Jeremiah walked past one of the corners of the camp, there was a lot of soldiers guarding over an armored car, one with the symbols of the Viceroy ;not the abomination that he design and order building to the letter. That thing caused harm to the eyes of Jeremiah each time the Viceroy took out his official car for a walk; this one, on the other hand, was an elegant black and golden limousine with the Britannian flag in the sides. Jeremiah grumbled, could it be that the Viceroy has called some of his mistress?, it was no secret among the personal of the Viceroy and the military that Clovis was a womanizer that loved to seduce and get to his bed all woman that caught his fancy, but this was directly offensive.

He could have wait for tomorrow or just excuse himself out of the way and do the deed out of the same camp on where the men he has just condemn to a death trap for his recklessness, where being attended. As a Margrave, Jeremiah has fought in more battlefield that he would like to count and he could perfectly understand how the touch of a woman could soothe the worries and stress after a hard day on the field. But for fucks sakes, do not flaunt it in the faces of the soldiers!.

Those men, who could be doing something useful, were standing around the damn car like the Emperor itself was on it, standing in attention and alert for any possible menace. And now that he thought about it, they were actually performing his duty flawlessly. That was a new experience for Jeremiah, so far he was not impressed by the royal guard of prince Clovis or any of the other pilots and soldiers of the garrison in Area Eleven.

In fact, so far, only the Purist Faction seems to have real soldiers among their ranks, the rest seems to be Britannian military that wanted an excuse to abuse and flaunt his power against the numbers of an Area or noble families spawn that only wanted to have an excuse to say that they had been in the army. Jeremiah knew that Area Eleven was one of the most dangerous spots for Britannia, mostly for the precious Sakuradite mines that fueled the Knightmares Yggdrasil drives and allowed the war machines to function. Not to mention how the Federation of China seems to always been sniffing around the country, looking for any possible way to fuck Britannia, already preparing for a war that it has been on the minds of all for a decade now.

Britannia had his hands already full with the EU and the Africa Front, where that bastard of Rommel was kicking his asses like he had an ax to grind with all of them, even considering that the _Panzer-Hummels_ were not at the same level at the _Sutherland_ they had deployed on the battlefield.

Jeremiah has more than once thought about what would have happened if he had requested a post into the EU forces, at last he will be among soldiers and knights and not being the ridiculed caretaker of a snobbish child like Clovis. He lean his left side over the leg of a standby _Sutherland_, it has been so long since he actually saw a real military attitude that he let a smile grow in his tired face, but before he could abandon the place, a voice called for his name.

"Jeremiah?" there was a lot of emotions mixed in that voice, something that surprised Jeremiah, emotions and the young timber of the voice " Jeremiah Gottwald?".

Turning around Jeremiah faced a young boy, dress as a student who was looking at him with violet eyes, the throat of Jeremiah went dry at those eyes, there was a thousand of pains hidden after those eyes but...

Jeremiah stiffened like a rock when the young man smiled to him, it was?, it was?!.

"L-Lo-Lord..." stuttered Jeremiah gripping the metal of the leg of the _Sutherland_ in complete astonishment.

Lelouch raised a finger to his lips, in a gesture to keep it silent, and Jeremiah shut his mouth in a second, but the expression of his face was more than enough to convey his emotions. Well, not all of his emotions, he was overjoyed, terrified, scared, stunned, happy, relieved, confused; the usual when the one you are convinced you had failed and badly, appears right in your face, after seven years of frustrating search.

"Hello my friend, how have you been?" smiled Lelouch, his smile did not reach his eyes, those were too busy, filled with guilt, sadness and relief.

Jeremiah noticed it, but he just noted it in a corner of his mind as he was just trying to digest that the son of Marianne was alive and well, that he was a student in Ashford Academy?, ah, good school, but back on track.

"I, you, my Lord" trailed Jeremiah, making gestures with his hands, not sure how to channel the conversation, he wanted to say all and say nothing at the same time, Lord Lelouch was alive!, now that was the best fucking news he has had in years!.

"Walk with me Jeremiah" said Lelouch passing at the side of Jeremiah and putting his hand on his shoulder, he said " would you escort me back to Ashford?, we can catch up on the way back to the school".

"Gladly my lord" replied automatically Jeremiah confused as hell.

Then it hit him, Lelouch was the one the armored car was for?, but that vehicle was for VIPS, the Viceroy himself or...

"No, Jeremiah" cut short Lelouch with a snort " I don't swing that way, Clovis not so sure, but I have come to pick up a Noble Lady, someone that Clovis has offended greatly and he has just let her under my care".

Relief and more confusion.

Noble lady?, one of the mistress of Clovis?, none of such high stand appeared under his watch, almost all the mistresses of Clovis are court peacocks and parasites, looking to be pregnant with the child of the Viceroy and became part of the Imperial Family. Lelouch entered in the car, soon followed by Jeremiah, who took a seat in front of the boy and look at the sleeping form in the leather couch of the car. The green haired girl was slim and pale, yet very beautiful, with green hair and dress with a prisoner garb?, ok, he was a man of world and has heard about role play in sexual relationships but this was of very bad taste. What he did not fail to miss was how tenderly lord Lelouch caressed the hair and the face of the sleeping beauty, that moved in dreams and clinched to the leg of Lelouch, like she was looking for warm and human contact.

Lelouch close the door and the car start to hum as the motors of the vehicle ignite and start to carry them to the Academy of Lelouch. Lelouch and Jeremiah stared at each other, not very sure what to say, the son of Marianne seems to be very fond of the girl in his lap, Jeremiah did not miss the tender touch and gentleness glowing in his eyes for a second when he took a look at the sleeping face of the mistress. Being honest?, Jeremiah had no idea about what to say, he had a storm brewing in his head, Lelouch was alive?, Lady Nunnaly could be too!, he could pay for his failure and yet no word scape from his lips.

"I suppose none of us knows what to say uh?" chuckled Lelouch, with sadness and remorse in his voice.

"My Lord I..." started Jeremiah but Lelouch raised his hand in an stopping motion.

"Jeremiah, please don't" said Lelouch " I know, I know that you had never lost hope, that you look for me and Nunnaly, that you have been this past seven years looking for us, you formed the Purist to help you on that regard".

Jeremiahs mind went into overload, if your Lelouch know all of this, why now?, where he has been?.

"I hide from Britannia" said Lelouch and that words shocked Jeremiah to the core, what?, that was preposterous, why would he do such a thing?.

"You remember right?" Lelouch caressed the check of the green haired girl one last time before crossing his hands in front of his face in a thinking gesture " the day my mother died".

"Worse day of my life, along the day I run five hours, broking the formation and risking a martial court to reach the Kururugi temple" said Jeremiah with a broken voice.

"Both tragedies had two things in common" raise Lelouch two fingers with anger in his voice "one, Nunnaly and I were in both of them" numbered.

"Is, is Lady Nunnaly alive?" ask Jeremiah, oh, please dear god, please let that little angel live.

"Yes, she is" smiled Lelouch warmly for a second and then his eyes went dark and full of regret, it was worrying how full of guilt and regrets seem Lelouch to be, Jeremiah could empathize with him, he has been the last seven years in a similar state " later, when we reach the Academy, you could see her".

"Thank god" exhaled Jeremiah in relief and joy, the little princess was alive and well, oh, thank you god.

The expression made Lelouch smile darkly, if only the poor Jeremiah know, By Pandora, not a surprise she created the Campiones.

"In second place" continued Lelouch and all humor disappeared from his voice " the second coincidence both had, is that their perpetrator were the same in both cases".

"Who?!" asked Jeremiah, the fire of vengeance burning brightly in his guts "please my Lord, tell me who were the responsible and I personally hunt them down to the last man".

Oh, he was going to make them suffer, hell will be a paradise compared with what he will do to the responsible of the death of Marianne and the hell in life this two children suffered in the bombardment of the temple on where both were residing. Absolute pity the next words of Lelouch floored and frozen him worse than a cold shower in the middle of Alaska.

"Britannia" replied Lelouch and his anger and hate lashed in his voice like a whip.

Jeremiahs brain broke a little with that one, all his anger and retribution thoughts die with the last word of Lelouch, and inside him, a little piece of his soul knew that the boy was telling the truth, that he was not lying, enough corruption has he saw, enough dereliction of the sacred duties of a knight, instead, hate and prejudice has corrupted the Holy Empire of Britannia.

"I'm sorry Jeremiah" the gilt in the voice of the boy was more than clear, and the knight didn't understand why but he has another worries like the thought that if Britannia was the responsible for the tragedies then, all he has done in his carrier was nothing but a lie?.

"Oh dear God" muttered Jeremiah, paling like a ghost, all that he has done, all the hate, the prejudice, the violence that he has poured in the numbers of the Area Eleven was totally unjustified.

He was mistaken, gravely mistaken, he has been serving with devotion to the ones responsible for the death of Lady Marianne, that means that he was, without doubt, a...

"_MURDERER"_ screamed his mind to him, no soldier, no knight, no honor, no duty, just plain and simple murder, he has killed innocents, so blind in his hate, so blind in his anger to avenge a crime they didn't commit that he has violated the same principles he hypocritically defended and make his all those years.

"**Enough, Jeremiah"** thundered Lelouch and the car tremble and fizzle for a second, as his power backed his words, it was no Geass, neither the full force of his _Authority_ but more than enough to instantaneously fill all the space in the room.

Jeremiah flinched, he has felt like the reaper has just pass over him. Astonished for the power and presence of his Lord Jeremiah just stand, broken and disgusted with himself to the core, he didn't deserve to life, he has committed the worst possible crime in his book, to dishonor himself and his Lord, with his reckless and blind actions.

"My lord" choked Jeremiah in his words, his eyes in the verge of tears, tears that he believed he has spent them all, the day Marianne died or the day he witnessed the complete obliteration of the Kururugi temple " My lord please, I'm not worthy of being a knight, I had betrayed the memory of your mother, I had dishonored you, I..."

Lelouch laughed, it was incredible funny you know?, poor Jeremiah, loyal to a fault, a man who has being nothing but loyal to him once he knew who he was, who helped him even in his darkest hours and he just had put a dagger in his chest and twist it.

Now he understood why Mordred seems to be so fond of him, no matter what he did, he always ended betraying everyone around him. Suddenly a pair of pale hands reached for his face and before he could even blink, he heared the voice of his loved witch, and her lips smashed against his, in a passionate kiss.

"My Warlock" whispered C.C both in voice and when their minds connected, much like the time when they forged the contract but this time, she was there to pick up the poor broken demi-god that was Lelouch Vi Britannia.

Lelouch didn't even ask, his witch was back with him, and that was all that matters for him, she didn't hate him, even after all she has suffered for his fault, she didn't hate him, instead she has kissed him with a burning passion that shocked Lelouch to the core. He could be a Campione, he could be a Demon Emperor, but we had to remember that Lelouch has always being a man driven by his vengeance and the joys of a true, emotional relationship with a lover who reciprocates his feeling was not among the contents of his impressive curriculum. With all this knowledge and with the knowledge that, at last in most cases, all Campione are very emotional beings, it will be no surprise that soon Lelouch and C.C were engaged in a very hot making out session in front of the stunned face of the poor Jeremiah, who had more than enough in his plate to deal with puppy love.

"TJEM" reminded the lovers of his presence.

Lelouch blushed a storm and had to use all his willpower to separate himself for the sweet lips of C.C, who smirked at him with that infuriating teasing grin of hers.

By Pandora!, how much he missed her, how much he hated himself for abandon her.

"Oh, hello Orange boy, how have you been?" ask C.C licking her lips without separating her eyes of Lelouch but then he turned his face to the knight, who look in the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Lelouch, why did you not make him remember?" ask C.C with a expression of curiosity in her face.

Lelouch felt his heart clench for the words of the witch.

"I can do that?" ask visibly surprised Lelouch.

[Black King] answer before she could reply, the _Authority _flow inside his mind, making his body softly glow in black and golden. The image was a more than disturbing for Jeremiah, who was scared as hell about how the son of Marianne could be some kind of walking Yggdrasil drive, this was not natural but so far, all this situation was surreal. On the other hand, C.C was experimenting the novelty, so many times as the supreme example of the supernatural side of the world, and this boy, her Warlock, the only boy who has ever offered her, love and care, has become the most fascinating being in the world.

Not to mention, she and Pandora has some kind of agreement, she will take care of her little Devil King and Pandora will not beat the shit out of her in C world. People called her a witch, but Pandora was mother hen at everything related to her Campiones.

Campione, C.C liked the name, her champion, her Devil, her Warlock; her lover?.

Despite all her years and experience, C.C was a little rusty in that regard, the last time anyone caught her fancy was in 1996, a cute little boy, before he was contracted by Marianne and the rest of the bastards of the Imperial Family. But even them, her emotions were dull, everything was boring for her, until now, the touch of Lelouch was fire for her, his power draw her to him, like a moth to a flame, and for the first time in centuries, C.C wanted to play with fire.

"By Pandora" mussed Lelouch with a mix of emotions reflecting in his aura, expression and eyes.

With a red visage in his eyes that frightened Jeremiah to the core, as it was more adequate to a demon of hell than a human being, Lelouch look his eyes with him and commanded:

**["My Knight of Orange, please remember"].**

At the beginning, Jeremiah was quite peeved, Knight of Orange, dear god what kind of title was that?, at then the memories hit like a train. Like he has received a shoot in the head, his head arched backwards but his fist and body language were speaking of immense tension, his head slowly came forward, his eyes almost out of his sockets, muttering incoherence words as all the memories of the suffering and the horror was showing on his mind.

"My Lord?" blinked Jeremiah confused as hell, looking at Lelouch he was some kind of ghost "but, I, the requiem?, did we fail?, no, we did not?, wait, Empress Nunnaly?, but I".

"Take a breath, my friend" smiled Lelouch, he still feared the man to take his sword out and just skewer him, he has made him suffer beyond belief and he deserved to die a thousand times, he could only hope to do some good this time before he pays for his sins.

Thanks Pandora and Magnus for this chance.

Suddenly Jeremiah knelt in the floor of the limousine and with a deeper and firm voice, intoned once more, the oath of loyalty to the best Lord he has ever had in all his life, one whose life was so full and tragedy and yet he chose to forfeit his own live to give the world a chance to achieve paradise. And even then, he has to suffer and witness how all his dreams and loved ones perish in a hell made by the bastards of the Order and the cowards of the world of C.

"Jeremiah Gottwald, the Knight of Orange, Margrave of the Holy Britannian Empire, here and now, swore eternal loyalty to his Emperor Lelouch Vi Britannia and his family, from now until my death finally catch me, in the faithful service of my Lord".

Lelouch didn't know what to say, another blood tear fall from his left eye, exactly like it happened with Clovis, he didn't deserve such a loyal knight, he didn't deserve such loyalty from a man who Lelouch has cause suffering.

"Shh, My Warlock" hugged C.C, Lelouch " I know, I know, but don't blame you, we are here for you".

Jeremiah just keep the kneeling position, Lelouch was not the only one with scars in his soul, in fact his discovery of the truth make his soul burn in hate and vengeance, how they dare?, and still, the lingering gilt of all he has done in the name of his mislead vengeance was equally horrible. But his lord was back, Lady Nunnaly was back, damn it, they were back, the world could be saved and to not turn into the horror he has witness, not to mention...Sayoko.

"There is still a thousand of things I wanted to say, to apologize Jeremiah" said Lelouch taking comfort on the hands and presence of C.C "but it could wait, we have arrived to the Academy" said Lelouch, as the car entered in the parking of the Academy, directly in the reserved space that the Ashford had within the spacious academy.

In C world, Charles Il Britannia was confused, he had discovered the death of Clovis not a minute ago, when his spirit has joined the rest of the collective subconscious. Slow but steady, the sword of Akasha was being constructed and pointed to the image of Jupiter in the sky.

He hated that planet with a passion, and it was a pity that the space colonization projects were so slow and without any real progress, even with the Sakuradite power source and the creation of the Knightmares, they were still far from creating a real, habitable city in places like Mars or Saturn. So far only a lunar base was available, and it was a bleeding in the budget that only gives Charles headaches just to thought about it; it was a real pity, he just wanted to dig the banner of his country in the mocking surface of the fucking planet so he could demonstrate the worst liar of all times who was the King here.

However, he to worry about other things now, it does seems that Lelouch has finally grew a pair and has started his own little rebellion, not really a problem but the Geass he has received from that witch of C.C could be dangerous. Whatever he has done to the spirit of that useless waste of his DNA that was Clovis, has reduced his soul to a hollow husk that could barely remember his red and demonic eyes, the avian symbol of the geass proudly glowing on it, and the most soul rendering pain and suffering, Charles has ever felt.

Lelouch seems to be able to destroy the mind of his victims with the Geass but for the tiny and broken fragments that Charles has been able to squeeze from the spirit of Clovis, Lelouch was terrifying in person. For all the reports Charles has managed to collect from his true agents in and out of the Area Eleven and his surveillance in the Ashford mansion, Lelouch was a slim prince that detested physical exercise. Not precisely the most fitting description of a terrible presence.

But appearances could be deceiving, he knows best than anyone that lesson, he has suffered infinite betrayals and back-stabs when he was nothing but a toddler. His politics of social Darwinism was nothing but a bullshit to hide his real intentions, he wanted a world without lies, without all the masks people put over their faces to stole, harm and thrive at the expenses of the rest. He has carefully crafted the best mask of the world, so he could kill the gods with it and finally reach the dreamed world he was waiting for, even if his partner, his own brother V.V has lie to him to his face, the day he killed Marianne.

Charles was an impressive figure, despite being past his fifties, the man was a colossus of muscles and a stern face, as opposite as he could be to his son Lelouch who was slim and of almost feminine features. He was a lot like his mother though, same violet eyes and mischievous face, and both seems to have a predilection of went way overboard when they wanted to deal with people they didn't like at all. Allowing himself some little remembrance, Charles smiled, now that he was completely alone, he could afford such expression of weakness; he recalled a lot of events that would lead people that has offended Marianne, or any of her children for what matters, into strange accidents, deaths, deployments in the worst of the battle lines, and so goes the list.

Marianne was as clever as him, and her fire was only hidden under a playful attitude, it was not really a surprise they had clicked so well, from all the one hundred and eight Imperial mistresses he had, very, very few has impressed him with more than just a beautiful body.

Marianne had both, body and mind, with a mischievous nature hidden under her carefree facade, that could give a run for her money to the worst spymaster in Britannia. Not really a surprise that from all the consorts descendants, only a few were allowed to survive, only the best of the litter were allowed to survive in his court, those and the few that called Marianne interest. Naming, Shcneizel, Cornellia, Euphemia, Clovis and some people that did seems to get in her good graces, like the Ashford family or that Margrave that almost suicide himself the day Marianne died.

If only the poor bastard know how dangerous and cunning Marianne really was.

His brother V.V could have waited a little more, Charles could not like how his son was developing, hidden in the Area Eleven, not even make him start in that little cripple of a sister he had; but he had to admit that the siblings, he had fathered with Marianne, hold the most talent of all his progeny. So far, only Schneizel has become something worthy, but the boy had the soul of a snake and it was not worthy of being the Emperor, Lelouch, on the other hand, had all the traits, but the intervention of V.V send it all to hell. He emptied a clip from an assault rifle over Marianne and then called an OSI team to pour a million Imperial pounds in ammo against the front of the house and the Hall on where he has shoot Marianne, using Nunnaly as scapegoat to cover what has really happened. Not really a surprise the girl was crippled, but V.V didn't take in account the existence of little Anya Alsteim.

A little girl, an apprentice squire, the same age of Lelouch and Nunnaly, who had come to Aries Villa to learn manners and knight skills from the famous Knight of Two, Marianne the Flash.

"A penny for your thoughts" asked a girl voice behind the frame of Charles and without losing his smile, he turned to face his wife, or better being said, the host that was carrying the soul of his wife. Anya Alsteim was a little and petite girl of pink hair, the pilot of the Mordred was a reserved, shy, girl that had memory problems and loved to record everything in that heart shaped phone of hers at any chance she had.

"Hello love, I was just observing the last action of our little devil of a son, Lelouch".

Anya/Marianne laughed.

"Oh, what has the little devil did this time?" smiled the little girl, her eyes glowing on the red hue of the Geass " who was the poor bastard that got humiliated in those chess matches of him?".

"He has just kill Clovis and he has done it so well that his spirit is all but destroyed" deadpanned Charles.

Oh, how much he loved to surprise his wife, after all, she was a cunning little girl and the shocked expression on her face was so totally worth it.

Suzaku was taking a shower at the private room of the pilot of the _Lancelot_, the quarters still smell like new, as until now, they had not been using by anyone, none of the previous candidates has managed to hit pass the 40% percent of compatibility.

But then, he has come out of nowhere and when Clovis demanded the machine to be put on the field, Earl Loyd broke a spear for him and allowing a low Eleven to pilot the basis for the future Seventh generation Knightmare frames of the Britannian Empire. And he has done it with a bang.

So far, the _Lancelot_ was all Loyd promised and much more, Blaze luminous shield, MVS swords, Slash Harkens, capable of carrying around long range weaponry like ARs, and with ten times the speed and the maneuverability of any _Sutherland _out there. For what miss Cecile told when he got back to the G-1 to recharge batteries, Loyd was almost doing cartwheels in happiness for the numbers of the machine and how spectacularly has Suzaku managed to pilot the unruly machine. The eccentric Earl congratulated Suzaku and for a second, the poor boy almost thought the man was about to propose him, he didn't like at all that glittering in his eyes under those glasses; it made him feel really nervous.

Hot water, Kami be bless, fucking real hot water...

The heater of his apartment has been broken for some time now and it was almost impossible to get a good plumber in the ghetto, considering the meager allowance he had as Honorary Britannian, aka cannon fodder for the military higher ups; it was a miracle itself he did have an apartment or better being said, a bunk of some kind in a peripheral ghetto of Tokyo.

It was a drag to move between the base and his low little house but he had no other remedy.

But this private quarters are thrice the size of his own entire house, and they are nothing but temporal quarters for the pilot of the experimental machine to be when the engineering corps are on the battlefield, testing the latest piece of mad tech they had developed. Just as that, because he has been able to pilot that piece of tech called the _Lancelot_, they have give him quite the new digs to park his ass when he is not in active duty, and a sarcastic piece of his mind; the same one that call his plan of changing the honorary system from inside a total bullshit; just remark that a guinea pig in a golden cage, was still a guinea pig.

Suzaku was not an idiot, ok, he could be an idealistic, but being an idealist was not a bad thing at all, you just have to be an idealist at the right moment and with the strength to back up your ideals and if the push come to shore, push it down the throat of the ones opposing you.

And there was the failure.

The Japanese boy was a pacifist at heart, he wanted to end all conflict with the less bloodshed possible and of course, that was a complete bullshit in this rotten world, where powers like Britannia or the EU will happily slaughter all their forces before even think about abandon the system and the good, comfy spots on where their asses are sat. Just with ideals and some strength you are not going to convince a person like Charles Il Britannia to abandon his little Ragnarok project, in fact it will be easier if you just obliterate the damn Pendragon with him and all the Nobles you could find during one meeting of the court.

That thought has never pass the mind of Suzaku, who was convinced that he was doing what is best and he could change the system for the better, from the inside, reaching a position of power and from there, changing the things for the better. Honorable, kind, noble and very laudable.

But the higher ups would prefer to fuck a kitten in TV during prime time, than to allow a number to reach a position of power among the Britannia military or the Britannia government, the mere idea was so preposterous that it was an inside joke for the chain of command. Suzaku was happily ignorant of all this of course, he was convinced that his own merits will finally give him a sliver of responsibility and from then, he could be able to keep up and finally achieve the position of Duke or even General, a place where he could help his fellow Japanese. Once again, snow ball chance in hell, but it didn't deter him from his objectives, Suzaki could be a lot of things, but he is a stubborn man, that once he has found an objective he will follow that path to the end, no matter how bitter it could be.

And that was one of the reasons, why the poor fucker cry his soul out when he accepted the burden of Zero and the responsibility of piercing right to the heart of Lelouch in front of all the word, he knew it was wrong, he was sorely mistaken, he was so drown in his own shit that he didn't really noticed the burden until it was too late and he has killed his friend in front of his loved ones.

That Suzaku was an older, experienced, clever version of the poor idealistic bastard that was enjoying the pleasures of hot water from the first time in months. But, this time, things was going to be radically different for a boy, that despite all his misdoings and errors, was a good man at heart and deserve a happiness that was rip out from him by a very unfortunate mistake made by a colossal screw up of Lelouch.

A screw up he will not make this time, oh, no, there was lesser chance of a snowball in hell that Lelouch will do the same bullshit this time, however, and considering what Lelouch was this time...Well, it is a futile effort, to apply any kind of common sense into Campiones and their actions or thoughts, those who are capable of slaying gods are, by definition, defying any rational thinking.

Asford Academy/Lamperouge residence.

Lelouch was walking through the halls of the house that holds some of the best memories of his cursed life, in his regal features was a mix of joy and sadness, as he remembered all the shit he has put the Ashford through and how some of the best memories of his life where from this same place. He could listen to Sayoko humming to herself in the kitchen, even the kunoichi maid has been able to sense them from so far, but for Lelouch, who was now in his Domain, he could sense the presence of the woman like she was at his side.

Although that honor was for C.C now, she has clung to his right arm, enjoying the attention the Campione was giving to her, now that all has been clear between the two, both of them are eager to develop their relationship. The poor Jeremiah was still massaging his forehead from the memories he has received from the Geass of Lelouch, there was a shit ton of crap to deal with, from the memories of all the Orange event, By Pandora, he didn't want to pass through all that crap again.

Although the cyber implants and the Geass canceller has been quite useful, allowing him to stand his ground against Knights of the Round and Geass users; considering they were going to deal with the Order, he was almost tempted to have his career torch to ashes again, so he could be heavily enhanced trough tech and be of use to his new Lord. But first comes first, he will have to get accustom to his non-empowered body and start preparing all the Suzaku poor joke of a trial, so Zero can make his first and most commented appearance of TV to all the world.

He was still debating if he will pass through all that and take one of the team or he will gladly make one of the little fuckers under his Purist Faction take the blame for him, the implications of that were a little too much for him now. They walk into the halls of the house of Lelouch and he just stop at the entrance with a thousand feeling swelling in his heart and head, he was back after what seems a thousand years, even if it does seems for the rest of the people like he has just went a few hours ago.

The house answered to his call, he was the Lord of his domains and soon, all the computers in the house inform that all was perfectly fine, Nunnaly was comfortably sleeping in her room, hugging the teddy bear he won for her during one of the few times they go outside; and Sayoko was cleaning the kitchen after the dinner both her and Nunnaly had waiting for him to come. Lelouch drink that sensation for a little time, all was good, all was innocent, all was peaceful and without a worry in the world. He was going to tear apart that, he was going to set the world in flames again...by Pandora...

"Go ahead, my Warlock" softly nudged C.C his arm.

Lelouch smiled to the witch and with a deep sigh in his mind, entered in the mansion.

As soon as he entered, he noticed how Sayoko tensed in the kitchen, well, she was a kunochi after all and she has sensed the presence of Lelouch, it must have been like if a sun has entered through the front door.

Right behind them, Jeremiah had his own inside war, he seriously hoped that at some point, his Lord will awake the mind of Sayoko, the kunoichi maid and the Knight of Orange did click at some point of the Black Rebellion and the Zero Requiem, both of them finding the truth about the event, way before Lelouch ask them for their help in the completion of it. Together they were a formidable team, that help Nunnaly to maintain the Empire and when all went south, they were a bulwark against the rising darkness that was Schneizel world, they finally succumb, but until then, they became legends.

Jeremiah has to admit that the courtship of a woman was not among his skills, he was a hot blooded male as any other jack out there but all his life, he has been married to his job first; and considering how he has been an ass during all his life until Lelouch kicked him right in the metaphorical bollocks to wake him up; his skill in wooing a girl was almost at nonexistent levels.

Sayoko and he just shared a virtue of loyalty and honor, and during all the times they have been together protecting both Lelouch and Nunnaly, they just feel attracted to each other, their sense of honor and their devotion to a Lord just make things easier. Dear Pandora, Jeremiah hoped that his love will ever forgive him for the massacres that he has committed during his darkest days, when he was nothing but a husk of himself in a mistaken quest for vengeance.

Lelouch guided them into the place, following the old and dear layout of the place, he has loved the place, it was a peaceful, comfortable place for his little sister, and the Ashford has done nothing but help them achieve their objective of anonymity and protection from the same butchers that cripple Nunnaly in the name of the jealousy of V.V. He felt at home, after his torture in whatever dimension that was, the halls of the Ashford building was more than welcome, even if they were dark and silent, after all, they were only three persons living in the building, well, he hoped now they will be four.

Sayoko moved to intercept them and Lelouch just keep walking, he has nothing to fear from the maid, she was as devoted to them as she was when she was hired by the Ashford to take care of both of them. Another nick for the rifle of Lelouch, he has never done anything that could start to pay the debt he has with the old friends of his mom, and even if she was a bitch of the highest order, he has to admit, the Ashfords has done nothing but help him during all his life. And he payed them by destroying the world and put Milly and Rivalz in front of an execution squad, when they had done nothing but protect what it was dearest to him.

So many plans to get the things right, so many things he could do, for the moment, he has played the same sonata, of course with some little changes like the awakening of Jeremiah and C.C but soon he will have to adapt to the changes in the events.

Of course, the pivotal point will be the foundation of the ASZ, he will not kill Euphy like he did in the past, he owns his sister that much, and specially after how she fall for Suzaku, not that he will not kick Suzaku in the head a pair of times to get rid of his own delusions.

Lelouch reach the door of the hall and with a sigh opened the door and enter into the dinning hall that he usually shares with his little sister, who was soundly sleeping in her room; not too much after he has entered the room, with C.C still hanging on his right arm, Sayoko appeared at C.C side, startling the witch and making her almost jump out of her skin.

"Kyah!" yelped in a very cute way C.C at the sudden appearance of the maid.

"Good night Sayoko" saluted Lelouch with a smile to the loyal kunoichi "sorry for being late but I have been caught in some displeasing events and I couldn't come sooner".

"Welcome home. Lelouch-sama" bowed the maid with a welcoming smile and a glint of amusement in the eyes at the sight of the green haired woman at his arm.

"Thanks Sayoko, is Nunnaly sleep?" he knew the truth, all the vigilance system in the house was now under his absolute dominion and all the system priorities have been change to_ "Keep Nunnaly save"_, from all menace or intruder.

He was convinced of Sayokos capabilities to do that, he has seen them more than enough times, how his Knight of Orange and the Kunoichi maid protected the Empress from all kind of enemies, seen and unseen. But even them could be overloaded by an OSI black ops cleaning squad, determined to reach Nunnaly and take her as hostage or just send a message to Lelouch to play nice, so far it has only happened once, when Suzaku sold his sorry ass to Charles and his bastard of a father play scrabble with their memories.

"Yes, Lelouch-sama" nodded Sayoko but suddenly drag a kunai from within her squirt and prepared to jump at Jeremiah, who was standing in attention behind of Lelouch with a strange look on his eyes.

"Lower your weapon, Sayoko" ordered Lelouch " Jeremiah is a dear and trusted friend of the family" explained.

Sayoko blinked a pair of times when the Britannian just bowed at her like he will be at a noble lady of the court, and his voice had traces of something odd within it, it was like hidden pain and longing nostalgia when he call by her name. But what really broke her was how the man was speaking in a fluent Japanese.

"It´s an honor,Sayoko-san" said Jeremiah " sorry for bringing Lord Lelouch so late but as he has explained, he has to intervene in some nasty business, alas necessary for the advancement of his goals".

The Lord remark did not scape Sayoko attention, this man knew of Lelouch true origins and name but at the same time he had no ill intent, at much an awkward look in her direction now and them. How odd was, this strange knight, but if Lelouch-Sama has deemed him worthy, so would she, after all, he was her boss now, she has been contracted by the Ashford to keep both, Nunnaly and Lelouch same from any harm. The kunai disappeared as it has never been there and Jermiah just smiled sadly, as it has something he was more than accustom, the only one that seemed a little startled was the green haired girl that seems to have caught Lelouch fancy.

Been honest, Sayoko was starting to worry about his master, his anger and hate was something that seems to consume his entire being, as if the vengeance and the destruction of Britannia was the only thing he does seems to have in his mind. Kami, she even begun to suspect he was gay, but seeing the green haired girl, it was clear it was the other way around.

"Nice catch Lelouch-sama, but don't you think the prison garb was a little too much over the edge?" thought the maid eying the dress and body of the green haired girl.

"Nice too meet you too, Jeremiah-sama" said Sayoko, letting the people enter in the house.

There was something about Lelouch that didn't add, now that she could see her master, first of all, his presence has like the one of a sun when he entered the house and now, she was convinced that something happened to Lelouch, and not only getting himself a girl, there was something deeper.

Lelouch entered in the place and stopped at the main hall of the mansion, near the stairs that lead to the rooms on the upper floor, standing in the place, he just observed the upper floor.

"I will wait on your room, my Warlock, I need a shower and get rid of this disgusting garb" whispered C.C on the ear of Lelouch " you would remember the way to your room, don't you?".

"To you?, always" replied Lelouch without losing a beat and giving a last squeeze to the hand of the witch who smirked and hide her blush, centuries playing the game and this man can make her blush like a schoolgirl in front of her crush.

She walked to the stairs with an extra sway of her hips just for him and Lelouch drink from the picture of the beautiful woman going up the stairs. He was not still aware of it, but her instincts as Campione were starting to awoken, one of the worst traits of the Campione was their desires, as they were not deities living among mortals, their desires and thoughts are too, out of the human league. Soon Lelouch will found how different his mental process were and how his desire for atonement and forgiveness would make him to reckless things. Things that would lead the world with the mandible hanging from their jaws and amaze at what the Campiones are capable.

They are irrational, they are powerful, they are indomitable, they are terrific, they are monsters, they are saviours and protectors, they are ravagers and conquerors. Lelouch was the [Black King] and he has come to domain the board, no objections allowed. But first he would have a late dinner, he has not eaten anything for hours and despite the feast he ate in the Mead Hall of Magnus, he would love something solid to eat now.

"Sayoko, would you mind if I borrow the kitchen for a quick snack?" said Lelouch turning to the maid and the knight who stood in similar attention, uh, his presence must have been filtering without him knowing.

"Uh, sure Lelouch-sama" nodded Sayoko.

"I think is time for you to get reacquainted with each other" waved Lelouch the maid who didn't understand but Jeremiah smiled in a face splitting grin.

**["Sayoko Shinozaki, please remember, my loyal Kunoichi maid"] **said Lelouch and walked inside the kitchen.

Thanks to his enhanced hearing, a secondary effect of his Campione body; suck on that Todoh sensei, to the hell with the exercise, being a Campione is great; he was still discovering half of the shit he could do, and so far he was impress.

"Je-Jeremiah" listened Sayoko whisper recovering from the memory overload.

"Yes, my love, I am here, I am with you and we are on Ashford Academy" confirmed Jeremiah and soon he could listen to the unmistakable sound of a passionate kiss.

Those two deserved happiness, they have served him and his family with devotion and honor. Making himself a sandwich and devouring him in hungry bites, Lelouch smiled when he could hear the whisper of both Jeremiah and Sayoko, he could not hear the conversation as they were moving, possible Jeremiah wanting to return to G-1. Both know that Lelouch had killed Clovis and for the memories they have received, they know the crimes of the blond prince; the soon Jeremiah could be there doing some damage control, the better for all of them; it will be unfortunate but for the good going of the play, Suzaku must be blamed for this shit.

Zero has to make his great entrance after all, and what best to obliterate the Purist Faction and declare himself in front of the entire world as the assassin of the Third Prince of the Brittannian Empire in prime time.

Zero.

Lelouch loved to be Zero, he could be what he always wanted, but even then, his own arrogance twisted the noble character into a sordid manipulator with nothing but lies and pain to sustain him, when the push come to the shore. Zero will be what he should have been since the beginning, the champion of Justice, the Black King that lead his Black Knights into the battlefield and not some liar and betrayer, so blind that at the end, his own soldiers turn against him for his crimes.

But enough bullshit, Pandora will fly-kick him again if he ever dared to brood again, and for an absurd second, he almost swore he saw the face of Pandora nodding at him with approval, well, it will be good to know that Pandora and Magnus had the gods of this world, quiet and under a tight leash.

After the mess they have created in the first time, Lelouch could relate perfectly well with the reasons of Pandora, about creating the Campiones and make them kick some stupid Heretic gods ass, all over the world. Unfortunately, this was Lelouch world, there was no other Campiones but him, in fact, for what he could take from the memories of Mordred and what Pandora and Magnus told him, there has not been any other Campione in the world since the Order created the C world and trapped all the deities into the thing called the Collective subconscious.

So far, the Order has only made one colossal screw up after another, with the Geass, the codes and all the bullshit they just arrogantly believe they could control, until a motherfucker like Charles Il Britannia came and pull out of his sleeve, the Sword of Akasha, menacing all the humanity, at the end, if the Code R would have reach his end, all the world would have died.

Not instantaneously, but by slowly, a slow and decaying death, losing all that makes them humans, emotions and thoughts will perish and with them, all humanity. It what happens when you just shoot at the unknown, sometimes is a good thing, and sometimes is the worst thing you could do.

This was more the latter than the former.

He didn't surprise when he exited the kitchen and did not found neither Sayoko or Jeremiah, it has been a long and stressing day, after all, not all days one could resurrect from the death like Lazaro reincarnated and armed with a shit ton of amazing new powers to back up his claim of destroy the world and rebuild something anew. Once again, he stood at the edge of the stairs, his emotions taking the best of him, Nunnaly was sleeping, she was alive and well, she was not an old woman, carrying the weight of the world for his idiocy, she was a cripple, blind, sweet lady, his little sister, the kind Empress that would lead the world into a better place.

He climbed the stairs and still conflicted, he stood in the door of Nunnalys room, even a King could be at a loss of words sometimes and this time was one of those times, he will not awake his sister, there will be a tomorrow. And that was the promise of a Campione, you could imagine how he would headlock the Wheel of time and fate if its needed for the fulfillment of his promise.

He opened the door, being cautious of do not cause any noise and slowly made his way into the bedside, just standing there, he could sense his tears fall from his eyes, Nunnaly was alive, Nunnaly was safe.

_Pandora, Magnus, thank you, thank you with all my rotten, dark, heart._

Sitting at the bed side, Lelouch smiled at the image of Nunnaly hugging her favorite teddy bear for her dear life, he pass his hand over the hair of the girl, enjoying the sensation and happy to see his little sister alive. Nunnaly moved in her sleep and rub her check against his hand, slowly a smile formed in her lips and muttered in her sleep.

"Brother" muttered and continue sleeping indifferent to the crying Lelouch at her side, just happy with having his presence back to her.

Mustering all the willpower he could, Lelouch moved from her side, promising himself and to Pandora that no evil shall ever befall on her little sister, he was the Black King now, and soon his enemies will learn to fear that name. He exited the room and lock the door in absolute silence, cleaning the tears of his eyes before returning to his own room, where his witch was waiting for him.

He had some confronted thoughts about that.

First of all, he was a virgin of eighteen years and despite knowing at an intellectual level what love making was and having covered all the bases of auto pleasuring himself as an experiment done when puberty hit him like a train, he was totally lost about what to do now.

Second, he was in love with too many women, it has cost him his life and to battle for his soul against the C world deities, it has been needed to actually see them die to know that he loved those women deeply. And the problem was the plural in the phrase, women, as more than one, actually three or four if his calculations were correct, Kallen, C.C, Shirley, Kaguya and perhaps some more, it was quite the harem and despite his status as Campione, he had no idea how to deal with women.

Third, Lelouch was not a sentimental person, emotional?, yes, but not sentimental, with that being said, Lelouch know how to win the hearts of the women but has no idea what to do with them once they have been won.

In resume, he felt like a jerk of the highest order.

With a loud sigh, he opened the door of his room and entered inside, as soon as his eyes saw what was lying on his bed, the brain on his head froze and his second head twitched in attention of the picture in front of him.

His witch, C.C, was laying on the bed, barely covered by a blanket, her hair was still a little humid for the shower she has just had, her skin was glittering under the dim lights of the room, as the shadows of the room danced over her exposed flesh.

"Welcome, my Warlock" smiled her with a lusty smile, one that made Lelouch pants form a tent. C.C repaired in the tent of his pants, her smile grow bigger, divine indeed, it does seems that all the Campione are notably well endowed, considering what Pandora has shoven in her brain about Campiones and their earthy desires, it was no surprise.

"I see you are happy to see me" giggled C.C letting the blanket slip over her skin, showing Lelouch her naked torso and already stiffened nipples, surrounded by a beautiful aureola.

"You are beautiful" walked Lelouch almost in trance, losing clothes as he walked.

When he got by the bed, he was only dress with an underpants that was almost at the verge of ripping trying to contain the beast inside of it.

"Flatterer" giggled C.C louder and walk on her fours, getting closer to Lelouch and offering him quite the show, as her grace and sensual movements were making him even more aroused than he was. When she reached him, Lelouch just take her lips, before she could even do a thing, his mouth and tongue voraciously attack the amused but welcoming lips of C.C, despite him being a virgin, C.C has to give him points for enthusiasm.

Soon she found herself laying in the bed, with Lelouch kissing her like there was no tomorrow and caressing all her body with her anxious hands, he could not know what the hell was he doing, but his hands were soft and gentle, making C.C feel loved.

She was very excited about how she was going to be the one popping his cherry.

It has been so long since she had shared her bed someone she did true loved, it was need a catastrophe like all the world went to hell to find a worthy mate, someone that could make her happy and who could endure the weight of the immortality with her. Lelouch accidentally found a soft spot in her neck and breast and C.C moaned, she cursed herself but she let the boy believe he has found one of her weak spots, Lelouch did not fall for the apparent indifference of the girl and keep caressing, nibbling and kissing those spots.

At some point, C.C rolled and get on top of Lelouch, the boy just smiled at his witch and let her take control of the situation, after all, he was mostly playing by ear and it has been just a matter of pure luck that he has found the weak spots of the woman.

"Be gentle, my Witch" raise Lelouch to kiss and softly lick the lips of the woman " it´s my first time after all".

She smiled widely and; in a very predatory way that make Lelouch sweat drop inside of his mind; she meowed in anticipation and desire, pouncing at him like a lioness over her new prey.

Until almost morning, the only sounds that could be hear inside the room, were the noises of intense love making. A seven hundred years old witch who has finally meet his loved one and a recently awakened Campione who has not fully controlled his emotions.

Hell yes, they are going to break some new records in Bedlympics disciplines.


	3. Chapter 2

G-1 Mobile Base.

The techs of the base just wanted to get back into the main barracks near the palace of the Viceroy, the mobilization of all forces into this backyard ghetto has been disastrous to say the last, and a complete logistic nightmare was waiting for them back at the main quarters. They will have to pull several nightstands to get half of the forces back into operative state, fortunately, there was not really a problem in obtaining new frames, there was more than enough fabrics and suppliers to easily give a new _Sutherland_ to the soldiers that needed them.

In fact, the only one that does seem to he happy with all this situation seems to be the Earl Loyd, who was devouring a pudding, in the canteen of the improvised camp outside the ghetto, lazily drawing sketches for new improvements to his loved machine, the _Lancelot_. When he saw, what that eleven, Suzaku has been able to accomplish at the controls of his machine, Loyd new he was at the entrance of a breaking discovery in Knightmare framing engineering. The base was solid, the systems were good, the energy output was a little high but that was Yggdrasil drive was for, to allow these powerful war machines to rule over the battlefield, and for the moment, there was no better machine than his own _Lancelot._

Oh, how much would have love him to slap Rakshata with his new machine, that arrogant Indian deserve some bitch slapping after all the mocking she has done about his models and designs. They were the best, hands down, that's why Schneizel has trusted him with the development of the new Seventh generation. Actually, Schneizel has not done it because he trusted the Earl, so far, if he could have done it, the Second Prince of the Empire would have put both Rakshata and Loyd into chains and then chain them to a design board until they have created the supreme machines for him. But reaching Rakshata was like hunting a ghost, not to mention that for a Britannian agent to put a foot on the Military zone of India was a death sentence, those fuckers under the banner of the United States of China are one thought nut to crack.

Back at Loyd, he was now tinkering about how to integrate the MVS into the arms, more than having to carry around a pair of swords, so far the Kinghtmare had almost all their weapons integrated, with the exceptions of ARS and some hand to hand devices like the lances of the _Gloucester, _or the range weapons Varis rifles.

"_Oh, oh, an integrated rifle, nah, too big, not to mention the problem of the extra channel into the weapon to provide ammo and energy to shoot and there was more than enough weak spots in the distribution frame all over my little boy to add some more, yes, yes, that could be good"._

No one has ever said that Earl Loyd was a sane man, in fact it was more certain that he was a complete nut job, but so far his branch of insanity was just an inoffensive one, being a workaholic and more interested in machinery that any human being around. So far, only Rakshata and Cecile, his assistant, are being able to put some common sense in the screwed head of the scientist, one in the past and the second in the present, however the addition of the perfect pilot for his machine has added a new name to that sort list.

Making the _Lancelot_ shine went long ways with Loyd, and the Brittannian don't really give a shit about the numbers system, so far, every one was pieces of meat for him, meats that allow his machines to work, that was more than enough. Loyd throw the empty pudding into the trash bin and walked to his mobile lab and taller for his little boy _Lancelot_, he will love to do some last minute improvements to the machine, the pudding always gives him the best ideas. He pass at the side of a tired group of techs, it was seven in the morning and this bunch seems the one that had picked up the short straw in the task of entering the command center and start the retreat of all the wounded and beaten forces of Britannia, back into his den in the Viceroy palace to lick their wounds.

For a second, he almost fell sorry for them, it was obvious that the Prince, that flamboyant cretin, will not be in the best of the moods right now; most probably he will most probably still drunk or with a hangover or with some whores he has previously wooed in those events in his joke of a court. Well, it was not his problem, his baby need him, there was so much to do and so little time to do it.

The group of techs were dragging their feet all over the halls of the G-1, not really wanting to wake up the Prince, they feared, and not without reason, that they will be put in the wrong side of an execution squad but it was their duty to actually do something. Enough had already half of the news business of this planet with the retransmission of the completely destroyed forces of the Viceroy, it will be need a miracle to turn this mess into something of usefulness.

The PR of the Viceroy had not say a word yet to the press, that were waiting like vultures at the edge of the camp, waiting for something to inform or to snatch from the wounded soldiers, fortunately, the Purist Faction was keeping all under short leash. Still, not their work, so far, they are low level military comm techs and support personnel, the perfect and easily replaceable pawns to send at the dragon lair that was the HQ now, the prince has not exited from it in all the night, so far the registers of the computers show that he was still inside the command room.

The techs reached the door and look among them, none of them really wanted to be the one opening the door, it was not out of the possible outcomes that the Prince will shoot them. There was weapons inside the HQ and the Prince was not one beyond the use of them to punish those who disobey his orders, no matter how stupid they can be. A general was in permanent latrine duty in a backwater island of Area Eleven for daring to raise his opinions during one strategic meeting; he was right since the beginning but the Prince authority was absolute, a lesson, all of them learn well that day.

Almost trembling one of the technicians actually dared to move to the control panel at the side of the door and pass his card over the identification led, the led blinked a pair of time and turn green, opening the door. Gulping down and fearing the worst, the techs entered in the room and the first thing they noticed was a disgusting smell all over the place, they turned to each other, is somebody actually crap his pants?.

However, all of those thoughts, soon went out of the window when one of the technicians repaired in the mangled form of Clovis, still sit over his own feces, in his throne room, his head, totally open by the shot of a 45ACP inside his mouth.

Pale and nauseated, one of the technicians actually reunited enough force of will, to move to one of the computers and activated the alarm of the G-1.

The Britannian forces were for a rude awakening.

All the bunkers of the Purist Faction were a hornet nest, and all the Knights of Honor, all of them Britannians, deployed in the disastrous mission of the Shinjuku ghetto were eager to look for some scapegoat on whom they could pour all the blame for this fiasco. So far, none seem to be able to find some kind of solution, and for what´s worth, Villetta Nu was at the verge of shooting to some of these bitches, more concerned about their own careers than any other thing, now she begun to understand how frustrating must have been to Lord Jeremiah to have to deal with this horror day after day.

Villetta, Soressi, Kewell, Liarson, Jrubel, and a dozen more Knights of Honor were debating how was going to react to this mess, when the Prince would start to ask for responsibilities. Even if all of them knew that the only, real, culprit of all this shit was Clovis own incompetence as general, sending all the troops in a rush into a death trap, trying to win by overwhelming force instead of strategy. They have been discussing for hours, losing some very needed sleep time and rest after the battle, or better said the carnage those fucking rebels has done on their forces, the morning will be a logistic nightmare of wreckage and recovery of bodies and pieces, both mechanical and organic.

Good thing there was more than enough factories around to quickly supply them with new Knightmares, and that make Villetta thought about how has been possible for her _Sutherland_ to get back in the base. She has abandon the machine to carry back to the base the injured body of the recently found pilot of the _Lancelot, _but that doesn't explain how on earth has the machine found its way back into the G-1 park. The machine was damaged, bullet shots and a broken knee from a combat she didn't remember, so far she was using the excuse of the damages to justify her appearance back in the G-1, carrying the boy; it was a very convenient excuse on her way, not sure how the hell has she managed to do all that and yet, do not remember zero about it.

Still, it has been a good thing, she didn't even want to explain how has she managed to lost a machine and a fight she didn't remember to have fought. Enough shit was already pouring over all the Brittannian forces in Area Eleven, specially the Purist Faction, to add more wood to the already blazing inferno. Speaking about inferno, Soressi was almost burning in indignation about what has happened in the field, personally, Villetta didn't give two fucks about the honor of the Knights, so far, none of them has impressed her on anything. Well, except Lord Jeremiah, who was a knight to the core, and of the best pilots she has ever seen, so far he was the only one that has won her loyalty, he was a bit too obsessed with the blood purity but in all honesty, all Britannia was an asshole in that regard.

Even her has to admit, that sometimes, she was an arrogant snob as much as any of the presents, it comes with the education, you are a Britannian, you are a bastard, as simply as that, it was kind of embed in the genes of the Britannian populace. She should have known best, after all her mocha skin was enough punishment as it was, enough bullshit had she to endure in the past, now, she was doing the exact same thing they did to her in the past, but this time the Elevens were the weak link of the chain. Survival of the fittest, the social Darwinism of the Britannian Empire applied to his maximum potential.

Still, Villetta has a voice, deep inside her head, that was constantly signaling that what difference was then?, from the bullies and bastards that she hated to so much during her infant years and all the bullshit she had to endure during her training as knight. Having a conscience was a complete drag. Still, it helped her to disconnect from the discussion that was the main topic of the reunion of the Purist Faction, this was nuts, they are not knights, they are just schoolkids trying to determine who was going to face the principal after a prank went sour.

Villetta knew that the shit has hit the fan, more than a hundred casualties and they have not even begun to count the destroyed vehicles and the knightmares obliterated in the fallen debris, good thing there are dozens of factories in the place, otherwise, she feared she will have to be back into the infantry lines. Once you have pilot a Knightmare, it becomes addictive, it was much better than any tank or armored vehicle and being honest, she loved to be into the cockpit of the frames, it was a well deserved reward after years of being dissed out by fuckers that weren't worth half a crap.

The arguments in the discussion was starting to get tedious, in resume, they wanted a scapegoat and they were going to blame the fiasco into some poor sap, possible Asprius will be the sacrificial lamb, Clovis will be more than happy to throw him into the wolves than take the blame for this military fiasco. After all, Asprius was the general in theory, in reality, the poor cretin can only advice and try to do some damage control, the last word was from Clovis, even if those words were the colossal screw up that has become the Shinjuku ghetto battle.

With a side glance to her watch, Villetta clenched her teeth, they have been at this for hours and she had to pilot her Knightmare back to the palace, without any real sleep and after the exhausting turns all the available soldiers had to done in the G-1 on the aftermath of the massacre. She moved to the coffee machine in the room and pour herself a cup, filled to the brim with the bitter substance, as everything in the quarters in the Knights of Honor, it was of the highest quality; it was one of the perks of the job, and for the moment, the unique Villetta could think at the moment.

The entrance of the room opened, and Jeremiah entered into the room, as soon as Villetta saw the man enter, she immediately thought that there was something odd about the man. As one of the few soldiers that did won the trust and respect of Jeremiah, Villetta has pass enough time near the tall and teal haired man to recognize his quirks and expressions, and the man that has entered the room, was not the same one that went on patrol earlier, that same night. For starters, he exuded far more confidence that before and his shoulders were not as lump as they were almost all the time, he was standing proud and with a smirk in the corner of his lips, if Villetta didn't know him better, she will swear that the man has gotten laid, but that was impossible, so far Jeremiah was only married with his work and would pay no mind to any female presence around him.

He was too obsessed with his past and his failure to Marianne the Flash to let anyone enter in his life.

"Oh, hello Villetta" saluted Jeremiah to the woman, serving himself a mug of the coffee of the machine, he put two blocks of sugar on it and removed the beverage " what did I miss?, has any of them actually made a good point?".

Villetta was surprised for the naturally of Jeremiah, her mind was starting to ponder if the get laid part was not as misguided as she thought, he was a bitter man, one that had no time for anything that wasn't his job and he was just almost making a joke here.

"No" shook his mocha head Villetta " so far, they are circling about a scapegoat, a political sacrifice and similar brilliant ideas; none of them actually want to recognize they have bested us, and in a very bad way".

"Sad but true" shrugged Jeremiah taking sip from his coffee and Villetta almost lost her cup.

Who the fuck was this man and where was the bitter and racist Margrave, she has served along for almost five years?.

"Excuse me, sir?" asked her looking at him, a little gobsmacked.

"Don't look at me like that Villetta" snorted Jeremiah with dark humor " they have completely fucked us, they were smarter and that cretin of Clovis played their tune perfectly" resumed the situation the Margrave and Villetta blinked a pair of times.

She has never eared him badmouth the Viceroy, neither swear, he always carries himself with the dignity and honor that a knight should always maintain, and there he was, joking, being blunt but sincere and in general, being a human being. Ok, theory of get laid, better be reviewed, it does seems Jeremiah has found someone capable of withstanding him, alleluia.

"Sir?" asked Villetta again.

"The facts Villetta" take another sip of his coffee Jeremiah.

He knew that this was going to be a very long and stressing morning, it was a surprise for him although, he was waiting for the base to be in maximum alert already, Clovis corpse should have been found by now.

"The forces of Brittannia has been obliterated today" said Jeremiah in a neuter voice " they have been cleverer and ruthless, and we have fall in their trap by the nose, guided by that fool of Asprius and the incompetence of the Prince Clovis, I shudder to think what the hell was going to do the prince now".

Villetta, left his cup on the table, she was a little too shocked, so far Jeremiah has always been to snob for his own good, but now, he does seems to have recovered his more sensitive side and spoke his mind. Good thing there was anybody else, half of what he was saying, could have cost him some time in prison or the dishonor, however, there was something on him that Villetta didn't seem before, and in a manner of speaking, it was truth.

Jeremiah was now the Knight he was always, but the burden and the regrets he had were weighting on him, and now that he was free of those burden, the man know as the Knight of Orange was taking the stage. God have mercy of any bastards on his way, for he will burn the world for his Lord, after all, it was his oath and duty, one that he was more than happy to comply, specially now that his dear Sayoko was at his side again. Together, they were unstoppable, and it was only a matter of time that he could take his rightful place along her, under the service of their Lord.

The Campione know as Lelouch Vi Brittannia or, as the world will soon know him; Zero, the Black King.

"They share the sentiment" pointed with a sigh Villetta to the rest of the factions, discussing among themselves like boys that have been caught with the hand in the cookie jar " but none of them wanted to admit it, they fear what this could bring to their careers and the Purist Faction".

Jeremiah seethed his teeth, hiding his disapproval look under the border of his cup, now that he was back, he was starting to remember how much he hated his own creation, he was naive on the belief that all of his fellow Knights of Honor and Brittannians would share his own code of conduct. At the end of the day, all of them were nothing but a bunch of wankers and lame ass nobles; the few of them with real, actual talent for both military and Knightmare piloting were so corrupted by the system, that any semblance with the code of chivalry would be a pure coincidence.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but Jeremiah has to recognize that he must have been drunk as hell to even think about this disaster called Purist faction, he need a hand to make the poor bastards of Japan, pay for a crime they didn't commit, and in his head, it did sound good to have his back covered by Brittannians finest. It was good on paper, but in reality, what he found was a bunch of boot lickers, more worried about their own career than in the good and honor of the already more than rotten Brittannian empire, Jeremiah has witnessed it all, in all detail and with more than enough clarity, to recognize that he has taken the wrong side of the conflict.

Pandora be bless, the goddess and the Campione called Magnus, took the things on their hands and set the things right, for now on, Jeremiah promised that he will worship Pandora and Magnus as new gods, they have saved his lord, they have saved Sayoko and they have saved him from such the horrid destiny he has seen in the memories of his Lord.

Truly dark times those.

"This is a real drag" muttered under his breath Jeremiah, really wanting a cup of the wonderful blend of tea of Sayoko, but for now, the caffeine in the coffee on his hand will have to be suffice. Before any of them could even add more to the conversation, the alarms of the base jumped in red light and loud noises, and Jeremiah had to make a conscious effort not to smile, about bloody time they discover the corpse already. Jeremiah knew that the Prince has blow his own head, as he received the memories of the torture dimension on where Lelouch has been, incapable of endure it, he preferred to blow his own head, blowjobbing a 45ACP hand gun, at the same time he soiled himself.

It has been a very nasty and disgusting picture, actually, and even his own Lord was surprised with the outcome of his reunion with Prince Clovis, he was going to put a bullet in his head for all the suffering he has put Lady C.C through, but when he blew his own head, it was kind of surprising. Being a solid stone in a sea of chaos, as every one around him were moving like headless chicken, fearing for an attack, Jeremiah raise his voice and start putting a semblance of order in his subordinates, they will be knights of Brittannia for the few moments they have left as the Purist Faction.

Ashford Academy/Lamperouge residence.

It has been a savage night, Lelouch has to admit that this sex thing, was much better than he expected, how come he run from it in his previous life?, ah, yeah, obsessed with vengeance and hate, incapable of love anything or anyone, drown in his own goals of destroying Brittannia. Well, mark that off the list, sex was fucking great, specially if the one at your side is one that shares your sentiments and loves you back.

As a side note, Pandora be bless for giving him the body of a Campione, otherwise he wouldn't be so sure of being able to survive to the sexual hunger of his witch, for her has been too long since she shared a bed with a loved one, and boy, was she feisty on the bed; the things she done to him, totally mind blowing and absolutely worth it.

Lelouch was awake and comfortably resting his back over the head of the bed, softly nursing the hair of C.C who was still asleep with a satisfaction expression on her face; he was in love with his witch but at the same time, he knew that he was in love with a lot more of females. Was it love or was it just lust and desire to atonement?, if he could make them happy, then perhaps they would not hate him, no matter how much he deserved such hate after how his actions has doomed them all.

His green haired witch has taken his first, as the vulgar saying goes, she has popped his cherry or something among those lines, he has to admit the witch was a very enthusiastic lover, not he could compare with any other lovers, but he was pretty sure that what they have done, crossed into the inhumane, specially in the hours and hours of relentless debauchery.

"Thanks Pandora for the enhanced stamina" mussed Lelouch and his _Authority_ inform him, that the responsible for that was Magnus, not Pandora.

His body possessed a minor quality called _Jotunblut_, the blood of the giants, and in resume, it makes his body to stand at the human physical perfection and making him almost absolutely immune to all sickness or poison, no matter how virulent or infectious it could be.

With a wide smile, Lelouch thanked his recently found brother in the family of Pandora and refocus his mind on the task at hand.

The computers of the Ashford Academy were his now, all the machines will obey him absolutely, as he could expand his [Black King] and force the entire population of the school to became his loyal servants, only Milly or the head of the Ashford family, Ruben, could be able to revoke his authority and even then, his status as the Eleventh Prince of Brittannia would make all Brittannians in Japan his vassals. Only people of higher authority could revoke his control, and even if they revoke his control over the people, the machines are another thing entirely, the machines, all kind of machines, are free of those regulations, they serve the one that posses them, and if you control the one possessing him, them they are yours.

So far, he had the control of all the systems in his house, systems that were allocated inside the mainframe of the Ashford Academy computers, so by extension, he has made himself the supreme user of the programs and hardware of the academy. He needed the virtual space, he has inherited all the hidden resources of the deceased Clovis, as when he died, the computers, immediately recognize him as the highest Brittannian authority, not to mention his [Black King] could slam any firewall like it was wet paper. He was loaded before, but now, now he could make the six families of Kytoto shiver in a pure economic war, not to mention all the juicy secrets, Clovis had stored in his virtual closet; on a side note, he found the detail of how Clovis has recreated the entire Aries Villa in the top of the Viceroy Palace in Area Eleven. Even after all his sins, Lelouch could empathize with his deceased brother, and recognize that those were good times, indeed. In any other circumstances, he has no doubt that he would have spared his life, but Clovis was a pure demonstration of what was wrong in Brittannia, and he caused his witch a life-time of pain.

That was a sin, he couldn't forgive, but Clovis has won him by the hand, and has blow his own head with a 45ACP pistol; if Clovis saw what Lelouch felt in the C world torture dimension, Lelouch could understand why did he did it, even now, his soul was still sore for the horrors he had endured in his own private hell, seeing his friends precious people and allies fall one by one at the hands of his own loose end. That has been a tough pill to swallow, fortunately Pandora and Magnus appeared and take him out of the Pitt of sadness and gilt, the gods of this dimension had cook from him; he was grateful to his divine family beyond words, and he pretend to do things right this time.

Was the only thing he could do to start to atone for what he did.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow when he located and revised the schematics of the Ashford Academy, Ruben you clever little devil, you transform the Knightmare factory into an academy, the main servers of the factory where now the computer database for an elite educational facility, who on his sane mind will ever look out for a military asset under the structures and computer systems of a school?. Well, a Campione would, just like Lelouch has done not a minute ago, but Campiones are irrational by definition.

The factory could be upgraded, in fact, they still conserve the frame of the _Ganymede_, Lelouch has used the old frame in the schools festivals, but there was much more than that on the databases of the Ashfords, in fact, if Milly were in the room right now, Lelouch would have kissed her. Rivalz and Shirley would flay him for it, but seeing what was on the databases, Lelouch has just discovered his own and perfectly secret factory of Knightmares and what is best, he would only have to buy it from Ruben. He would explain it all to the old man, in the first life, he has keep the old and kind father of Milly in the darkness, for his own protection and Millys but this time around he was going to trust the old man, a man that trusted and supported her mother; no matter how crazy that woman was at the end; seeing greatness in her.

The Ashford had always had a good eye for quality and despite how bad the things went after Marianne "death", they are a tough bunch and learned how to endure the shitstorm and yet prosper in the Area eleven. His mind already sending some orders to the system, Lelouch raised from the bed and entered in the shower of his room; if the clock was right, soon he will get down to have breakfast with his family. Nunnaly and Sayoko will be there, and perhaps he will introduce C.C to Nunnaly, Pandora knows she would love to have someone like her around, bringing some measure of mischief to her world. Closing his eyes and relaxing under the hot water, Lelouch also though that together, those two could be his end, after all, he could never say no, to anything they want, from pizza to whatever Nunnaly wanted, in a sense he was whipped by the two beauties, one his sister and the other his lover.

And in the future it was more than probable that more women will be added to those holding the leash.

"_Am I a masochist in disguise?, now, I beg__a__n to understand why have I been dodging women all my life, they could give you heaven and hell in the same dose"_ joked with himself under the hot water.

"Pandora protect me" chuckled Lelouch, cleansing his body for the extenuating activities of the night.

If his memory was right, today was the day he meet Kallen in her sick fake persona, he hated that Kallen, she was submissive and sick voiced, well, that's unfair for her, she had to wear that appearance, otherwise she could be spotted and expelled from the school.

Speaking about that; school and expelling; he owned Rivalz a new bike, he has destroyed it when he awoken in the accident, slamming face first against the opposite wall of the underpass, not one of his brightest moments. And speaking about his blue haired friend, he was a bit of a conundrum with him and the rest of the student council , he wanted to have his friends at his side this time, but reveal all of it to them was a complete suicide, so far he knew that his [Black King] could be the only solution.

Milly was an Ashford, she had iron in her spine, despite her antics and perverted nature, and he knows that if the push come to the shore, the blonde bombshell will pick up her game and make him proud. All of them had surprised him immensely, when the nightmare of Schneizel took place and the world was doomed to a slow stagnation, form the fears of the old gods and the cowardice of the subconscious collective.

Too many plans, and all of them full of possibilities, all of them valid and risky, some are pure boldness from his part and the other were just his old self trying to control everything.

He knew it.

He knew that this time, he could obliterate all enemies in his path, between his knowledge of the past and his new found powers as Campione.

Actually he has just checkmate almost everyone except Schneizel and Charles, not to mention he was playing with a handicap of not wanting to cause more bloodshed than its needed. He will prevent the massacre of the ASZ or the landslide of Narita, or the Black rebellion, or the China mess, and speaking of China, how was he going to lend a hand to Tianzi and Xingke?, the pair need his help to kill the damn eunuchs, those were as rotten as the Brittannian empire.

Speaking of foreigners, he was eager for the moment of showing his skill to Rakshata, not sure if the woman will strap him to her bed or to a lab table to dissect him, but he wanted his _Shinkiro_ back to him, he had already a dozen of alterations in mind for the noble machine. All with the permission of Rakshata, of course, the Indian scientist would skin him alive otherwise, she was mother hen with all the frames she builds, all of them are their children, and anybody who mistreated them was in for a nasty retaliation. At the same time, Lelouch had an epiphany, why ride the borrowed machine?, why not build one for himself?, one tailor made for him.

Parking those thoughts for latter date, Lelouch end his shower and exited from the shower cabin. Drying himself after exiting the shower, he quickly dress with the student uniform and prepare for another common day in the Ashford Academy, but first things, first. He was going to breakfast with Nunnaly, something he was eager for, after all the shit he has experiment, and the suffering he has caused to her.

He can still hear her, the last words she ever told him:

"_How, how can you be so despicable?"_ the cries of Nunnaly when he stole the key of the FREYJA system from her hands, using his Geass to impose his will over hers; echoed in his mind like a lance, the gilt and the pain has not subdued at all.

Sighing to himself, Lelouch took all his valor and exited the room, this was a new day, a new day of his way to atonement. Still, he didn't forget to let his credit card over a new set of clothes for C.C; she deserved some well earned pizza and Lelouch has give the woman quite the founds for pizza, clothes and whatever does caught her fancy. She deserved some pampering after all the suffering she had to endure at the hands of Clovis, and in the future, at the hands of a batshit crazy Schneizel, turned into nothing more than a glorified pawn of the C world and the Order.

And she will have her cheese-kun back to her, as soon as possible, she loved that oversized plushy doll; somehow Lelouch suspected that if she didn't have it soon, she will experiment withdrawal, like if she was deprived from her beloved pizza. Adjusting his jacket with a wave of nostalgia; he was wearing his old uniform again; Lelouch walked to the stairs, his senses were already picking up the noises of Sayoko and Nunnaly in the kitchen, and with a smile and his heart clenching in a grip of fear, relief, love, and nostalgia, Lelouch get down the stairs.

There was a dozen things to do, there was so much to do.

And speaking about that, and ignoring how ridicule he appeared to be, as he waved and make gestures with his hands in the air, controlling and modifying machinery and computers systems at his will, all over the Brittannian enclave in Tokyo. He was Lelouch Vi Brittannia, until a new and higher ranking than him, Viceroy appeared, he was, at all effects, the supreme ruler of Area Eleven, and all the machines obeyed him, at the beginning he felt how it was overwhelming.

Only his empowered brain, reinforced by the _Jotunblut_ bless of Magnus, saved him for having his brain almost toast by the sudden and confusing influx of data; isolating and categorizing the data, took him several minutes, and only after he limited his attention to the Academy and his surroundings. He remotely accessed to the main frame of the G-1, and smiled discovering how they had already given the alarm after they discovered the body of Clovis, in fact he could see Jeremiah and Villetta speaking through one of the cameras of the place.

Wooaaa...this was incredible, he was the god of the machines, they submitted to his will without reservations, even the most protected systems, however he had only full access to those systems in Area Eleven, he tried to connect with a Chinese server and the machine almost fried when all the protocols of identification slammed against a divine consciousness filtering on them.

That has been interesting, he has tried to locate Xingke and Tianzi, but so far, he can only say, that they were inside the dragon palace in the capital of the United Federation of China, and that his _Authority_ was too much for machines not under his control, frying the systems with his presence. Useful as hell, as countermeasure, but the piercing sensation on his skull, when the machine overloaded, was not a good thing, any other person will have his brains fried on the spot and he didn't even want to think what a scrambler applied to the machine while he was in, could have done to him.

[Black King] is an eternal learning curve, so it seems, it will make him good to always being on his toes with his own power, but not the same way the Geass did, the Geass finally betrayed him when he ordered Euphy to kill all Elevens in sight. With a thought, he consulted the hour and for his amusement and personal embarrassment, he has been standing gesturing in the hall for about six minutes.

"_Pandora protect me"_ laughed Lelouch softly.

He quickly erased all records of his actions from the cameras, he would never live it off, if C.C or Milly caught sight of it. Exhaling, Lelouch get downstairs, Sayoko and Nunnaly should been at the kitchen at this hour. He found the two women eating in the kitchen, a very healthy breakfast, and speaking of that, Lelouch was hungry, he has not eaten anything since the frugal sandwich of the previous night and considering how has he been sexually assaulted by his witch, he had all the reasons to be famine.

"Good morning brother" smiled Nunnaly and Lelouch froze in the spot, he could sense tears rolling down his eyes, he was alive and well, Pandora bless her, she was alive.

He had a lump in his throat, he wanted to hug his sister to the death, but he couldn't even respond to her, Sayoko moved and give him a squeeze in his arm, the maid knew the conundrum Lelouch had in his mind, and offered her silent support to her lord.

"Brother?" asked Nunnaly a little surprised for the silent " is something wrong?".

"N-N-no, no, sorry Nunnaly" swallowed Lelouch and walked to the side of her sister, taking a seat near her chair and taking her soft and kind hands on him " I just, got lost in thoughts for a second".

"Brother" said Nunnaly gripping his hands with hers " what has happened?, why are you different?".

She was worried about her brother, and that worry transform into a pang of fear that sent a dagger directly at Lelouch heart, he was now crying openly now, however, he wasn't emitting a single sound, just stood at the side of her sister, even if she despised him, he will always love her.

"I am Lelouch, Nunnaly" said Lelouch and in his defense, he was able to speak in an even tone of voice, despite having his heart and soul torn apart " nothing is wrong with me".

"Then, why your hands had become so big and strong?" asked Nunnaly and Lelouch blinked in confusion a pair of times, was that why she feared him?.

Lelouch almost fainted in relief, he has forgotten that his physical changes, although not really showing on the outside, will be more clear for a girl like Nunnaly whose senses after being blind has become sharper, a form of compensate her blindness.

The hands of Nunnaly search for his face and he didn't even dare to move, she frowned a little when he noticed the tears, but when he scanned his face with her soft and kind hands, Lelouch felt the love his sister had for him, he could express what a relief it was.

"Bro-brother, Why are you crying?" asked Nunnaly extremely worried, she has noticed how stronger her brother now was, but this was shocking for her, why was he crying.

"I..." the voice of Lelouch trembled.

"He just had a very traumatic experience yesterdays night" the voice of C.C interrupted Lelouch, entering in the kitchen and smiling to Sayoko, the maid has already caught the presence of the mistress of her lord.

"What?, hum...sorry but who are you?" asked Nunnaly with her hands still on Lelouch face, trying to wipe off his tears " please, brother, stop crying, I can sense your pain and suffering" muttered her and Lelouch, smiled mentally, she was perceptive as hell, it seems that her blindness did open another way of perception for her.

"Oh, sorry Nunnaly, I am Cera Constantine" presented C.C to Nunnaly taking a seat along the kitchen table, and pouting a little for the absence of pizza.

She will order some later, she needed it, and her Cheesse-kun, winning that plushy again was going to be delicious, still, now she had another very well endowed plushy in the form of Lelouch Vi Brittannia. Pandora has already warm her that the Campione, live for their desires sometimes, but that many times in a row; even empowering her sometimes and handling her with a tenderness and the love of a lifetime lover; was too much for even her.

"I...was in Shinjuku yesterday" told Lelouch to Nunnaly in a soft voice " I saw how the military killed civilians and they almost kill me, Cera and I barely scape with the help of an old friend of the family".

Masterfully explaining everything and still, not revealing all the sad truth of his contract, his status as Campione and how he has managed to make Clovis suicide himself with his own gun.

"Oh, brother" Nunnaly hugged Lelouch, and the Campione hugged her back, with caution of do not harm the weak frame of his sister with his recently gained strength "why didn't you tell me?, I don't know what I would do without you?".

Each, single, fucking word was a dagger to the heart and soul of Lelouch, ok, he knew that previously has been an ass, but now, he was only starting to realize how much has he hurt his own sister with his mad plans.

As Magnus, eloquently put it.

"_Do they really look happy, lad?"._

No, they really don't look happy.

"I'm sorry Nunnaly, I arrive at home very late yesterday, you were sleep, and I was too stunned to think, just happy to be alive" said Lelouch, do not straying very much from the truth " I...was just glad to be at home again".

Nunnaly just hug fiercely her brother, he was lying, she could say when her brother was trying to hide things from her, when, he was trying to protect her and carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was different, even for a blind girl like her, she could sense how stronger and radiant her brother was now, it was like he was some kind of little sun, but he was dark and warm at the same time, she could sense his love and affection but at the same time there was a deep pit of guilt and regret in him. Cera smiled to Sayoko, the maid knew better and let the siblings be, after all, her Lord has just come back from a traumatic experience, and she was not talking about the mess in Shinjuku, but from the torture dimension he has been trapped in, for Pandora knows how long.

It does seems that swearing in Pandoras name was quickly becoming a new quirk for all the inner circle of Lelouch, after all, she and her son, Magnus; was the only two gods that has given two fucks about humanity, and they were the ones responsible for saving Lelouch from his eternal punishment.

"Good morning Sayoko" stretched Cera, still basking in the afterglow of the glorious sex marathon of the previous night, she was a bit sore this morning, but her code soon took care of that, in minutes she was as good as new "Could I join the breakfast?".

"Of course Lady Constantine" smiled the maid, knowing how important the immortal witch was for Lelouch " but I'm afraid, we don't have pizza".

"Pity" shrugged C.C " I will order some later, Lelouch has been most generous with me" flashed the girl the credit card of Lelouch and Sayoko smiled, she was going to milk the card for every penny.

Lelouch in all honesty didn't care, he was with his sister now, a sister that didn't hate him, not yet at last, and in all honesty he was scared of what could happen if he restored the memories of his sister. She will remember how a monster he was, and his expression of hate, was something that will forever haunt him, not matter how much atonement he will do in this life, but those are mussing for another time, now he was in the arms of his sister, and that will be more than enough for now.

Viceroy Palace/Purist Faction quarters.

Jeremiah hated the replica of the Aries villa in the palace, at the beginning, when he first arrived to Japan, blind in his vengeance, he was happy to be back in the only place that has brought him happiness. Now, and after knowing the truth and the madness that Marianne hid along her husband, he hated the place, but more honestly being said, he loved the good memories and despite the games of cloak and dagger that were played inside those same walls.

But now, he had other worries in mind, he was sat in the chair of his office, in the Purist Faction quarters, inside the Viceroy Palace, patiently listening to the crazy ideas, his own men had devised to get them, out of the blaze, that the death of the Viceroy has lightened right under their pompous and egoistic asses.

As he suspected, the cleverest idea was none other that the same that he had in his past life, to blame all into an honorary Brittannian, none other that the same that piloted the _Lancelot_, ending both menaces at the same time; the dead of Prince Clovis and the Honorary Brittannian system in Area Eleven. Ok, he has to admit it, it has all the bloody sense, it was genius and pragmatic at the same time, if it weren't for the fact that he know the truth about the killer and who was really Prince Clovis and what he has done to Lady C.C in his little, not to secret now; laboratory.

There were four more persons in his office, and so far the only one with an ounce of common sense; and Jeremiah suspected it has something to do with her own experience than anything else; was Villetta.

"I could understand the reasons behind all this plan" sighed Jeremiah, and he massaged his forehead.

"_I was such an idiot before?, Pandora __protect me__, I hoped not"_ thought the knight before continue speaking to his fellow knight.

"And frankly, I admire it, it is a very good PR move and at the same time we get the Honorary out of the system".

"Then, what´s the problem Jeremiah?" asked Kewel who couldn't understand the sudden reluctance of the man to his plan.

In fact, he was very much sure, Jeremiah would have come with something like this, he hated the Elevens with a passion, and this was the best bitch slap one could muster to their ego; they kill the son of the man that suicide before surrender and sweep those pesky little honorary scums out of the system, it was perfect.

"Kewell, have you ever see those...proofs?" pointed Jeremiah to the carpet that contains the irrefutable proofs that makes Kururugi, the main suspect of the assassination of Prince Clovis " in fact, do you have any idea of how did Clovis truly die, in first place?".

"I don't see the relevance" shrugged Kewell " and even if the proofs are heat air, it doesn't matter, we need a culprit, some that we can blame and at the same time regain our reputation at the eyes of the Mainland".

"Kewell" sighed Jeremiah, it was a bit unfair, as he was sure that he has used similar arguments in the past to make his, but he had knowledge of what was going to happen " do you know who was going to be the next Viceroy?".

"Not really" not seeing the point of the question.

"A member of the Imperial family" said Jeremiah, and all the present in the room stiffened at his words " and this is pure speculation, but I am pretty much sure, they will be either Prince Schneizel or Princess Cornelia".

"What?!, that's impossible, both are till the necks in warzones" objected Kewel.

"And both were the closest to the deceased prince" added Jeremiah " now tell me Kewel, when one of them, any of them, new Viceroy or not, get their hands on the autopsy, and read that Clovis suicide instead of being killed, specially after we had shown the entire world, his supposed killer, what do you think they will do?".

"They will congratulate us for quick thinking" smiled Kewel with a renewed hope in his gaze " you could bury the dishonor of the suicide, presenting a veritable scapegoat".

"Or appear as idiots" this time was Villetta the one that spoke, sighing, rubbing her hands together inside her pilot suit gloves.

She, as Jeremiah, had the suit still on them, as none of them, has had any real rest since the previous day, coffee can only carry you so far, and she was already more than tired of all this bloody debacle.

"Why?!" sneered Kewel, who despite being as Knight of Honor as her, was not still convinced of her, her tone of skin was not common among the pure blooded Brittanians, he has his suspicions about her mixed blood, but nothing to demonstrate it, yet.

"Because they will see it was a suicide and how we just plotted to kill an innocent" explained Villetta "even if it is a number, transforming him into a goddamn martyr to his people and making the already unstable situation in Area Eleven take a turn for the worse".

Kewel, couldn't believe it, those are cowardly thoughts; kind of ironic considering how eager was him to sacrifice an innocent to save his career; he was trying to save all them all, and they just turn his back on him.

This was nuts.

"More or less what I thought" nodded Jeremiah, but he wanted to add a nail to the coffin.

The poor Kewell was a sacrificial lamb, and he was going to walk into the slaughter all by himself, and to think that he once consider this man a friend and a comrade, now he could see what his sorrow and arrogance did to him, and silently thanked Pandora for the save.

"However, I will add, that such actions, independently of who is the new Viceroy, will most possible end in the disbanding of the Purist Faction, ending our careers and any real chance at promotion into nobility or Knights of Round" despite his shocking words, his voice was neuter.

He will not miss this people, except Villetta of course, but Lelouch has plans for her, after all, and despite all the suffering the dark skinned woman has caused him, he has to admit that he has caused even more damaged to her and Ohgi, it was time to balance things and give her a shoot at happiness.

"None of them are famous for being tolerant with the incompetence" explained Jeremiah at the stunned and blanched faces of his lieutenants " and if we continue with this show and execute an innocent, if the truth behind this parody of a trial, filters to the press or god forbid to the OSI, all the Brittannian army will appear as buffoons at the eyes of all the world, specially us".

"Then we have to forge the autopsy and burn the corpse" suggested Kewell " then none will ever now what happened".

"And kill every one present in the G-1 yesterday?" raised an eyebrow Jeremiah " Brittannian soldiers and techs were the ones that founded the body" reminded to Kewell " fortunately, we could ground them in the base, before any of them could flap their mouths to those vultures of the press".

Jeremiah reclined on his leather chair, this was one of the few good things of the Purist Faction, they are too much accustom to have the better equipment and all kind of luxuries.

"However, as soon as we make the announcement of the assassination, either we kill all of them, or make them agreed with this plan of yours" continued Jeremiah "and please, tell me you are not serious when you even suggested burning the body of the Prince, before any of his siblings came, or for god sakes, pretend to forge the autopsy of the Prince, under the noses of the OSI".

Villetta was as worried as Jeremiah, if Clovis had been only assassinated; and it was not that the man did not deserve it; this would have been infinitely easier, they could just look out for a culprit, preferably not one of their own. Her stomach churned at the idea of sacrificing that Kururugi kid, for starters, he has been shot in the back by his own superior for refusing to shot civilians, not terrorist, just some unlucky bastards caught in the crossfire, after that, used as guinea pig for the Engineering team and still, he managed to bring some kind of victory from the jaws of defeat.

He has been more than fucked by his own people, and now Kewell wanted to put him in chains by a false assassination?, this was crazy, worse than crazy, it went against all she has sworn to uphold and defend as Knight of Honor. She didn't fell very honorable right now, in fact, she felt like a complete piece of shit, and for what she could hear, it was only Jeremiah, the one that seems to think beyond their own assess and see the reality for what it was.

"We need something" marked Kewell, and he was right, unfortunately " we need something that could gain us back the favor of the Mainland and the people here in Area Eleven, and if I had to hang that pipsqueak of an eleven, I would gladly do it".

"Your funeral" shrugged Jeremiah, like it was nothing, this coldness did throw back all the presents, and Jeremiah noticed.

"What?" raised and eyebrow the man, opening his drawer and taking out a bottle of a fine and expensive brand of whiskey, right from the Homeland " I am being nominated as the temporary Viceroy".

Jeremiah take a sip from the bottle, not even bothering in looking for a glass, before throwing in lazy manners, the bottle to Villetta, who just congratulated him in a neuter voice, before taking a long gulp herself and pass the bottle to the next.

"I have been more than eight hours now, drown in thrice be dammed paperwork" explained the man with pained voice " and this is only the beginning of the hazardous task of cleaning all that horrendous paperwork until a royal came and free me from this nightmare".

"Fuck" eloquently put Villetta the emotions of Jeremiah.

"Yes, exactly my thoughts" nodded Jeremiah " so excuse me, if I am not my usual self, I am a soldier for gods sake, not some pencil pusher of the administration, and the last thing I need in my desk, is this sorry excuse of a public assassination of a number from you, Kenwel, in the Emperor name, what the hell are you thinking, my friend? ".

None say a word, all of them were looking at Jeremiah like he has grown a second head, Villetta on the other hand was exulting, she could get behind this kind of leader and knight, one honest, straightforward and for the first time since a lot, really honorable. Damn right, she agreed totally with his superior, it was about time the man grow a pair and be the knight he was the first time she meet him, not long after she reached Knighthood.

"I am thinking about what the Purist Faction need, evidently you are not" he was in the verge of exploding and the resistance of Jeremiah to his plan was the last thing he expected.

"I am thinking about the Purist Faction" shook his head " I need our noses clean and shiny for the time when the next Viceroy come, be it First Prince or Second Princess, I don't care who, I need us to be the outstanding knighthood that we are, and sorry for being blunt my friend, but this?" tapped Jeremiah into the carpet of the "proofs" of the assassination.

"This is just the kind of thing that could put us out of the military or worst, out of the Knighthood ranks, if we are unfortunate enough to have the Witch of Brittannia roaming around the Area Eleven...and I do fear she was going to be here soon".

"This is the second time you assured that Princess Cornelia is going to be here, why sir?" asked suddenly Villetta a little intrigued about how sure his superior officer was, about who was going to be the next Viceroy.

Jeremiah sighed and with sadness in his eyes take another long shot from the bottle, so far, the plan was proceeding as his lord has required, having knowledge of the most possible future was a great thing indeed, however, he will change that horrific distopia of Schneizel, he barely could control a shiver at the though of that abhorrent future.

"Vengeance, Villetta, pure and simple Vengeance" said Jeremiah reclining on his chair.

"Don't get it" admitted James.Z Machlin, one of the older members of the Pure bloods.

"Cornelia, hates this coun..Area" corrected himself Jeremiah " it has already taken three of her brothers from her, and believe me, she could be a very vindictive woman when she wanted".

"Three?" ask Villetta, trying to remember, and when she did, she soon blanched "oh, the children of Lady Marianne, and now Prince Clovis, god protect us".

"See?, Villetta knows better" nodded Jeremiah " Lady Cornelia and I went a long way past, she and I were entrusted with the security of the Aries Villa, and now Clovis has died under my watch; just imagine what was going to happen if we don't play by the rules to the letter".

"So you are just covering your ass?!" pointed Kewell to him, as if he was accusing him of treason " you fear the Witch and just wanted to cover your ass, at the expense of our careers!".

"Kewell!" shouted Jeremiah with a stunned expression.

Good thing he was quite the god actor when he wanted, otherwise he would not be as convincing as now, in his fake anger and offense, for what he cares, the man can go fuck himself, it was a living memory of how an idiot he has been and how truly stained in innocent blood, his hands were.

"Ey, Soressi, that was uncalled for" grunted James participating in the conversation for the first time, he did not agree with Jeremiah and was a total supporter of the plan of Soressi but at the same time, he recognized, that, was Soressi has done, was rude and unnecessary.

"I don't care!" continued the man with fury in his eyes, he was agitated and furious, specially now that he was convinced that Jeremiah was trying to use them as bait.

He was going to do the exact thing Kewell was about to do, but his position as temporary Viceroy would be perfect to throw the Pure bloods to the wolves, when the Witch or that monster of Schneizel get in Area Eleven. So, that's why he was opposing to the plan, he pretended to enact his own version, but this time, he was going to sacrifice his own squad of Knights to save his hide.

Do not forget, that Kewell, is a Brittannian to the core, but he lacked the qualities that made Jeremiah an outstanding knight, for example his loyalty or his force of will. And of course, Kewell view of life; tainted with the social Darwinism that seems to infect all the layers of the government; was centered in the survival of the fittest, at all levels, that means that he was not seeing what Jeremiah was saying, as a sensitive and cautious thing to do, it was the opposite, he was seeing it, as a political maneuver to get him out of the fire.

"I will not sacrifice Pure blood to save your career, Jeremiah" declared solemn Kewell " this execution was exactly the thing we need to put all those filthy numbers out of the system, and at the same time present a scapegoat to whoever comes, putting us in a good light with the nobility before they had ever reach Area Eleven".

Jeremiah massaged his forehead and sighed, the rest were not a little divided, on one hand, they could understand what Kewell was saying, on the other hand, what Jeremiah said had the ring of truth, and that ring is very difficult to overcome.

"You are determined to go ahead with this, uh?" asked Jeremiah eying Kewell, sighing again, take another gulp of the bottle and leaned on the back of the chair " ok, Kewell, you want to put a circus, so be it".

Everyone froze for a second, has just Jeremiah granted him, free pass to do as he wants?.

"You will be in charge of all this" pointed Jeremiah " you are going to be the maximum responsible for all this execution" Jeremiah almost choke in the last word, so far, he has already shown that he hated this plan and consider it completely contrary to the precepts of Knighthood "take with you all the Pure Bloods you want, but I warn you, do not mess it up, I am clear?".

Kewell smiled and saluted before exiting the office, soon followed by James and the other Pureblood, only Villetta remained in the office, eying with caution her superior officer, he was not the same man, he has been fighting along for so long, he was different.

"Something on your mind, Villetta?" ask Jeremiah, picking a carpet from the surface of his desk and with a frown, keep filling paperwork.

"I...don't know what to think, sir" admitted her " Kewell was right, but now that we know Princess Cornelia is on her way, I don't know what to think anymore".

"You want to do something useful?" smiled suddenly Jeremiah and Villetta shuddered at the image, that was the smirk of Jeremiah just before he has pounced someone to death "grab a chair, recently appointed Temporary Sub-Viceroy, I had a shit ton of paperwork for you".

Villetta paled, her skin acquired a curious tone of color, but seeing the predatory smile of the man, she knew that she could not scape from this one.

"I hate you, sir" exhaled Villetta and took a chair.

"Oh, don't be like that" laughed Jeremiah " despite the horrid paperwork, the work has his perks, how the hell do you think I managed to get the scotch?" shake a little the half emptied bottle "and the increased salary is not bad either, just make sure you put in your resume you have acted as Viceroy, is one of the requisites to get a title" shrugged Jeremiah, whose Margrave title was among the higher echelons, only surpassed by Marquess, Dukes and Grand Dukes.

She smiled, this Villetta was still a title hunter, wanting to get a Baroness title, so she could get out of her past and be part of the Empire in full, never needing anymore to see over her shoulder, just in case someone discovered her hybrid ascendance. It was kind of ironic, how Jeremiah knew of this, and has done nothing to damp her in any way, so far, his prejudices and hate, seems to be only focused in the elevens, not really caring about any other numbers, and Villetta has to admit the man has been good for her, he was a friend and a leader.

"Still, this paperwork from hell" mutter Villetta looking at the pile of papers that Jeremiah was putting on the desk "I would never forgive you for this, Jeremiah" sighed the woman, taking a pen and preparing for the inevitable.

Jeremiah just smiled widely and get back to his own, Kewell was already on his way, to his own gallows and he will only have to sit and watch, his Lord has already planned the rescue of Suzaku, after all, this was going to be his grandiose apparition on the media.

But this time, Jeremiah was going to enjoy the show; he was already heating the popcorn.

Ashford Academy/Student Council Room.

Lelouch was secretly enjoying this, even if he had to endure again, all the shenanigans of Milly and her crazy parties and ideas inside the prestigious school; it has been great to see them all, to see them alive and well. So far, only Milly and Rivalz seem to have notice how has he changed, still, his interaction with them in the private room of the student council, sure has thrown them into a loop; he has to admit it, teasing was funny. Now he could understand why Milly and C.C did it all the time, how come he has lost it the first time?, it was hilarious; however, he has to admit that seeing all of them, has been a very painful pill to swallow.

They all have died by his fault, his actions condemn them at the end.

Rivalz and Milly, they finally found each other just to be executed by a shooting squad, by the crime of helping Nunnaly and the children of Villetta and Ohgi, even in front of the reaper, they joked and laughed to their executioners. Nina, the shy and introverted Nina, that preferred to blow herself up, than see her inventions and genius turned to destruction once again. And Shirley, by Pandora, the less is said about the colossal botch up he did with the orange haired, sweet and fun girl, the better.

It was good to see, that he could make things right, that he could create the world Nunnaly and Euphemia wanted, however, he would have to exile himself into the C world at the end, Campiones are both salvation and scourges, and Lelouch had no intention of became the latter. Lelouch has already pondered about the incredible power he posses now, the _Authority _was all Pandora and Magnus has told him and more, and what is best was how the Absolute domain that the [Black King] exerted over machines and men, was flawless; Geass was a child play in comparison.

Now, he could understand why Pandora was so pissed off with the Order and the creators of the Geass, it was a cheap knock off of her own Campione system, creating the code bearers to infect people, here and there, with the power of the Geass, always furthering the goals of the Order. Until Charles Li Brittannia came and send it all off the window, not to mention, that Lelouch shudder about what could have happened if his crazy mother or his bastard of a father, would have been Campiones like him.

They were already crazy enough with their Geass, to add the power of _Authorities_ to further fuel their ambitions, fortunately, this time, he has going to put a stop to their madness, long before it happens, although, for that, he would need his Knights. Lazily nibbling into a chocolate bar, he run through the last craziness of budget that Milly has created; it was kind of amazing, how awesome the blonde bombshell was to create and manage parties, but how absolutely sucked at creating a budget. He has already uploaded his own version of the budget into the mainframe of the Academy computer systems, and it was just a matter of simply print it and have it signed by Milly, with that she will have covered all the year.

And speaking of that, he has already ordered the student by year and sex, just in anticipation, not to mention, he has done a little upgrade and bug cleaning of the systems, and who knew?, Nina tends to store her research inside a private server on the Academy. Nina, little and poor Nina, if she realized what she was doing, an enormous tragedy could have been prevented; specially, when the rest of the world could only see the enormous potential the tech she was developing had, as weapon of mass destruction. Complete vaporization, no radiation and created with the Sakuradite, FREYJA should have never been developed, in fact, he has the longing sensation that the goddess of the same name, would be pleased and disgusted at the same time for the creation that shared her name.

Lelouch continue to shuffle the paperwork around, he has already done it with his mind; he was starting to feel in love with his own _Authority, _absolute control over all the machines in his domains, it was as cool as it sounds. Taking a bigger bite of his chocolate bar; he has the teeth for something sweet this day, and it was tasty indeed, in fact he has not still found a meal not of his tastes since he got back from the C world. Perhaps he has been to long in hunger, that now everything was passable for him, as long as it was edible food, and even if it was, somehow he knew that his superior Campione complexion will burn the toxicity.

Not that he wanted to experiment if he could eat cyanide like it is a condiment, but it was a good thing, every advantage was more than welcome, even a Campione could die, specially now that he knew that he was not as sturdy as his fellow Campiones. He was superior to a human, so much was true, but a FREYJA explosion will vaporize him, Campione or not; a potent enough caliber to the head, would put him out of his misery too, it does seems that being a sucker for physical activities has somehow tainted his physical capabilities. Well, he was going to prevent as much risk as possible anyways, so it was not a concern, and the enhanced stamina was a fucking godsend, considering how out of control the libido of C.C was; now that he has accepted the Witch, and recognized how much he loved her, the woman has done everything but tie him to the bed.

And he was sure that she was not doubt searching for some sturdy ropes for their next session.

Ending his chocolate bar and softly licking his lips from the chocolate still on it, he raised his head and found Shirley looking at him with his face, slowly going redder by the moment, poor, poor Shirley, Lelouch knew of her crush, long before the tragedy that killed her, and in all honesty, he was a little lost about what to do with all the women after his bones. Kindly smiling to the flustered woman, he winked at her and get back to his already done work, putting the pile of paperwork at one side and laying more comfortably in the chair he was sitting on. He smiled widely when Shirley face almost went overload in crimson blush and try to hide under the pile of paperwork she had along her; his mind was a little distracted about the work Nina was doing in the computer in front of her.

She was far better than him at pure science, Lelouch could be a genius, but that's not an excuse. He was not a living library, you could be better at chemist than at physics, and Lelouch was not, by far, a nuclear expert; he was clever and had enough knowledge on the matter to see what Nina was trying to accomplish; and it was mind blogging. He took his phone and appearing as he was writing a message, he was using his power to do some corrections to the work of Nina and subtly guide her into alternative energy uses, than warfare uses.

Still, the girl was a work in progress; he suspect the poor and traumatized girl was voluntarily blind to any sins of her fellow Brittannians and that would be her demise at the end, but knowing that her hate and mistrust to Elevens came from an attempted sexual assault on her, Lelouch could empathize with that emotions.

"Eh, Rivalz" called Lelouch to his friend, a friend that he has see go to hell, back and front, to hide and protect his little sister, when the world of Nunnaly went sour at the hands of Schneizel.

"What?" asked the blue haired boy, tossing side glances to the blonde bombshell that was Milly Ashford, the bastard would never had a chance until, he stepped up his game and became the man, Milly wanted.

"I own you a bike, isn't it?" asked Lelouch and he could sense the reprobate glances that Shirley sent at him; she knew they have been gambling, and she didn't approve of the little escapades of the pair.

"Yeah" sighed Rivalz " but is Ok, if my little bike save your bacon, back at the ghetto, is all good" replied Rivalz and winced, remembering what he has said.

All the students knew the cover up history that Lelouch has told them, that he has been in the Shinjuku ghetto and how a Brittannian soldier has taken him out of the fire line, before the battle raged on, and he could be caught in the massacre.

"Still, allow me to compensate you" shrugged Lelouch "latter, today, I have some business to do, it does seems that some of my business associated is still sore I sweep the deal under his nose" Lelouch told to Rivalz who suddenly smiled.

It was a code between them, talking like he was speaking about business, when in truth, he was speaking about the underground chess matches that he played against the Nobility in the Area Eleven, a very lucrative activity that now was a little redundant but fun as hell for him.

"Oh, sounds like fun" smiled Rivalz " care if I join?".

"You are more than welcome" answer Lelouch

"Lulu!" said Shirley " you are not planning to gamble again, aren't you?".

"_Pandora protect me"_ thought Lelouch _" how cute, that pout and blushed face of hers could be?"._

"Oh, Shirley" chuckled Milly, with her rolling newspaper in the hand, ready to strike to those who were slacking off " mother hen mode again?, your are delicious when you try to look disapproving" there was a glint in her eyes, looking at the bountiful blossom of Shirley that made the orange haired girl cover her chest and protest at the older blonde, but her protest die on her throat when Lelouch replied to the comment of the president.

"Totally agree" said Lelouch really thinking very much about he has said, until it was too late and noticed how all the student council was looking at him, like he has grown a second head.

Even Nina stopped his tipping on the computer to look at him with surprise in her eyes.

"Uh, I spoke in loud voice, didn't I?" smiled to all of them, writing on the last of the documents of his pile and stretching his arms; his uniform hugged his strong form and all of them blinked.

When the fuck has got Lelouch those muscles?, was more or less, what everyone thought.

"Well, well, well, now this is getting interesting, when did you learn how to flirt Lelouch?" smiled Milly with a predatory glance, she could sense how much his old friend has changed and she was hungry for delicious gossip, specially, an explanation for his now, fit and endearing body.

The bastard has always been very unfair, his handsome features, his regal manners and deep violet eyes had already enraptured mostly of the female population of the school and part of the male population. And now, he has a very, very interesting body, it was not muscled, it was more akin to a swimmer.

"I always knew" raised Lelouch from his chair "its only that I prefer quality over quantity but in this case, I can see both, in one delicious package".

At the begging none understood, until they follow his gaze for a sec and found themselves staring at the chest of Shirley, now the implications of the comment and blinked, Shirley more than blink, went into atomic blush and before any of them could retort back, they noticed that Lelouch had moved out of the room.

"Damn it!, that was good" laughed Shirley, founding this new flirting Lelouch much more of her taste.

Said Lelouch was walking at a leisure pace; politely answering to anyone on his pass through the halls, he was in the mood for some lunch, and considering how he has ended his work, he could take a little detour to the kitchen of the Student council building and grab something to eat. Since he got back from C world, his earthy appetites has grown considerably, well, he could indulge himself in a little gluttony...and a lot of lust, if he has to judge by the crazy night he has pass with his Witch.

And that brings back another interesting topic, his love life was going to be fucking roller coaster, his emotions as Campione has been amplified by a thousand, if he fell hate, man, his fury could burn countries, if he fell sad, even the skies cries with him. It was a drag, specially when he wanted to reciprocate the feelings of all the women that has been important for him, and from he detached himself in the past, completely in denial of his own a foolish boy has he been, barely reaching the majority of age, almost drugging himself to suppress his own emotions a and juggling the balance and the destiny of the world in his colossal arrogance.

The list of women closer to his heart was, although, a little too long, he has fallen head over heels for C.C and Kallen, he discovered too late, that he loved Shirley, when he saw Kaguya, an older, stunningly beautiful and clever Kaguya; dying at the hands of Schneizel army, he felt that he should have known a little better his auto proclaimed wife.

There were others who had a crush on Zero, or Lelouch for what it matters, but none where closer to the heights of those previous four, well, except Euphemia and Cornelia.

He had the biggest of the crushes on those two inseparable girls, when they were happy and lived together in the Aries Villa but years later, well, he screwed it up, big time, Pandora protect him, he killed Euphy and almost killed Cornelia; when those two were among the few people, he did love in the past. He reached the kitchen and opening the fridge, took a pair of sandwiches from the inside, along a bottle of water, mentally taking note of start brewing his own mead at some point, Magnus had hooked him into that golden delicacy and he would love to have some barrels around.

Opening the envelope of the first sandwich, he moved to one of the open gardens of the Academy to enjoy his snack before the classes resume; he could work a little more in his pet projects as he attended the class, after all, the Ashford Academy had state of the art facilities, and all the students had computers on their desks. Not that he need to type anything on it, his mind will suffice, but it will appear as he was paying attention, after all, he was not a bad student, a very good facade he cultivated over the years, when he has eternally plotting to destroy Brittannia and make his father pay for what he has done to them. Now, that he knew the truth, the real truth, behind the Aries Villa assassination, how truly were the responsible and how it all could end, he was going to make things different, perhaps some of his former associates; the old gang, as C.C has put it; will not agree with him, but he will make the world Nunnaly and Euphemia wanted, and this time, he will be around to enjoy it.

Dear Pandora, so many, many plans and possibilities, it was mind blogging, what if he just die as Lelouch, faking his own death, and became Zero, 24 hours?, it could do well for the rebellion, having him around all day, but at the same time, Nunnaly would be heart broken, he has done that once, Never again.

Another idea was to show himself to the world, once his father recognize him as Eleventh Prince, all the systems of Pendragon will be under his command for a second, that included the frames of the Knights of Round; enough fire power to obliterate anything in a matter of hours.

Not to mention, he will control the Elevator of Thought and vaporize the Sword of Akasha before it could do any harm to the gods, not that he owe the fuckers anything, but Pandora and Magnus wanted them save. If the Collective consciousness was not around, all the humanity will fall like a domino, lost all thought and minds, it was a great mess, but there was no way around that statement. The problem about dealing with deities, is that their statements and proclamations, seems to be as absolute as they can, when they open their mouths, what they come out, was fucking gospel, no matter how crazy it could sound.

When Pandora revealed what could have happened if the Collective was killed, Lelouch almost fainted. His parents gentler world?, his ass, that could have obliterated humankind. That's exactly what happens when you had a hammer, everything else, looks like nails to you. Lelouch knew it well, he has done the same, a lot more of times that he would have liked, but as the web of manipulations of Zero; the lies and intrigues he has harvested; finally bite him in the ass, the hardest way; he recognized that he was not so different from his bastard of a father and the crazy as hell mother of him. Lelouch smirked as he chewed the end of his first snack, talk about dysfunctional families; his was a complete wreckage; superior breed of rulers, that was category five bullshit, there was nothing superior on them; they bleed, suffer and cry, as much, as any other mortal.

Well, not him, not now anyhow, his change into a Campione has made him superior in a sense, and lesser in the others; after all, he and his brothers and sisters under the watch of Pandora, were the living incarnation of irrationality. Opening the second sandwich, and sighing to himself as he took a moment to open a line of code inside one highly protected Chinese government server; his plan to contact Tianzi and Xingke was still on the making; Lelouch observed the blue skies and the white clouds, taking a moment to himself.

It has been so long, since he just could watch the skies, it was a little surprising how we give a lot of things for granted, and how much we did miss them, when they are cut out from us. That lesson was give to him; the most painful way; when Shirley was assessinated at the hands of Rolo, and on a latter date, when the C world was tormenting him for save their hides from the sword of Akasha.

As usual, his peace was cut short, not much after he started to munch on his sandwich, when a pair of girls pass running near him, escaping from a very annoying bee, that seems to have entered into the garden, looking for some flowers. He sighed and was about to keep chewing his well earned sandwich, when a certain redhead girl appeared in his line of view; already abandon all her facade of poor sick Kallen Stadtfelt; the said redhead, frowned at the bee and with a single, accurate, hand strike, kill the bee without hesitation, relieving some stress in the hand chop.

She noticed then, how the so called Prince of the Academy, was five meters at her, with a sandwich on his mouth and looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a very, very odd expression in his eyes.

"_Kami!"_ cursed her in her mind, thinking about how she has blown her cover.

However, the boy just stare at her; with a several dozen emotions running on his eyes, something that did confuse Kallen a lot; for an entire minute, making the scene even more awkward.

"Uhm...hello?" said Kallen, turning to her sick and frail persona.

"_Smooth girl, really, really smooth"_ berated herself on her mind, still confused by the silent and the pained and sorrowed beautiful eyes of the boy, wait, what?.

Kallen frown inside her mind, where that had been come from?, the guy was cute and all that, but, wait, cute?, ok, she was rambling now.

"Hello, miss Stadtfelt" said finally Lelouch, recovering from the sudden impression to see her again.

He has already prepared all the event of the shower, in a dozen different ways, and here she was. Lelouch swore in his mind, he has already forgotten of the bee thing, the time where he Geassed her for the first time and discovered the fatal flaw of not being capable of Geass a person for a second time.

"How do you know my name?" ask Kallen, who was desperately looking for a solution; not really finding one, by the way; that do not include of killing the cute, violet eyed boy.

"We are classmates" smiled Lelouch eating his sandwich, like nothing has happened.

"Uh, sorry" smiled Kallen weakly, she really hated her Stadtfelt facade.

"No problem" shrugged Lelouch "nice style, by the way" pointed him suddenly " karate?".

Kallen blinked a pair of times, the conversation was not going as she expected, she didn't know what to respond so she just stood there, looking at him, and looking for an exit, however, the bell rang and both look at the hall that guide to their classroom.

Lelouch grunted and ended his sandwich in two quick bites, raising from the bench, where he has been cloud watching and enjoying his little snack; the bell has been the perfect excuse to leave, before the situation could even get more awkward. To say he had conflicted emotions will be putting it mildly, he wanted to apologize, he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to seek for her forgiveness and love, he wanted to embrace her, he wanted to kneel in front of her and offer her a sword so she could kill him herself or to purpose her marriage.

In a confused, convoluted, state of mind, Lelouch just sighed and use all his force of will, to suppress his emotions and act like it has been nothing; of course, he knew that the woman will be worried sick about how has she blow her cover by accident, if only she knew; but, he will not awake her, it was too dangerous, Kallen. He couldn't endure it, if Kallen reject him, if she hated him.

She was one of the few that have a total rein over the heart of Lelouch, and he suspected that Kallen was more in love with Zero than with Lelouch, but it mattered little, she was the Red Queen, the fierce pilot of the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N, that provoke terrors in the armies of the world, under the guidance of Zero, the Revolutionary.

"Are you coming to class, Miss Stadtfelt?" asked Lelouch with worry in his voice, knowing that she had to appear to be a weak, little, thing in the academy, when she was a dragon in female disguise "you seem a little pale".

Kallen went out of her stupor and blinking a pair of times, fixated her gaze on Lelouch and covering the distance, grab him by the wrist, as soon as she put her hand on her arm, she surprised a little from the muscles he felt under the Ashford uniform.

"Hum?, what is it, Miss Stadtfelt?" ask Lelouch with a smile, he could almost feel the thousand thoughts of the woman, running on her head; it was stupid, it was a childish thought but he couldn't stop it. Lelouch hated himself more than enough for what he has done in the past life to this wonderful woman, and now, was repeating the same idiot mistakes he done in the past, hiding, lying, betraying those whom trust he seeks.

"_Pandora protect me, I am an idiot"_ thought Lelouch, realizing something.

He was a Campione, and Campione defies the impossible as a common thing, he has forgotten that only his human past is burdening him, that he only had to be, what Pandora and Magnus has taught him. Campione desire, and they get what they desire, when they are worthy of it.

"**[My Red Queen, I beg you, please remember]".**

Blood fall from his eye, when the Geass flared along the power of the [Black King], a piercing pain pass through his left eye, but he didn't care a shit about it; the beautiful girl in front of him was far more worthy of attention than any pain.

Kallen grip on her wrist fault for a second, when the memories flood into her.

Every remembering experience was different for the subjects, C.C has remembered everything, from his time in the torture chamber to the moment she dies, however Jeremiah has only remembered about twenty years, Clovis on the other hand got all the suffering Lelouch has to pass on the torture chamber.

Her eyes went wet, with barely contained tears, as her expression change from surprise, to rage, to astonishment, to confusion, to relief, to sadness, too many emotions appeared on her mind, and she gripped the arm of Lelouch, with immense strength; betraying her weak appearance; grabbing him like a sailor to a safety boat, in the middle of a storm. They stood like that for a minute, as the memory flood receded, and Kallen start to compose her expression, into one of supreme confusion, looking at her surroundings like she couldn't believe where she was.

But her gaze, fixated on Lelouch, staring at his worried visage; she blinked when she saw, how the eyes of Lelouch carried a dozen emotions, much like her, there was sadness, fear, gilt, relief, hope but, why?, he was alive, wait, alive?.

"Oh, Kami, Lelouch!?" spluttered Kallen.

"_Here it comes" _thought Lelouch, who was ready for being killed, by the expert fighter that had him grab by the wrist.

Kallen was a very good close combat fighter, and that was before she trained with the best, like Todoh and Xingke, at the aftermath of Zero Requiem, if she has inherited half of the memories she had as fighter, now Kallen was one of the most dangerous women on earth. What he didn't expect, was for Kallen to pull him into her, and fiercely hug him, burying her crying face on his chest, sobbing and hugging him with all her might, as she just continuously apologized for failing him.

Wait, what?, failing him?.

Lelouch just returned the hug, taking the entire frame of the sobbing red haired girl into his arms, and slowly soothing her. Apologize?, Pandora protect them, Lelouch was the one that should be on seiza position by now, crying his guts of, in an attempt of seeking her forgiveness.

"It´s Ok, Kallen, don't worry, It´s ok" soothed Lelouch, circling his hands on her back, it was a good thing that he was an inch or two taller than the woman, so he could rest his head atop hers, embracing the woman, in a comforting hug.

"_By Pandora, please, Kallen, don't hate me" _thought Lelouch, corresponding the hug, and whispering comforting words to the crying and confused woman.

Kallen stop crying after a couple of minutes, her emotions has got the best of her, and has cried her guts, to the boy that was hugging her, a very comfortable hug, a hug that she had desired with all her heart, but the world just always, get in her way. She took a step back, reluctantly separating from the warm; and far more fit than she remembered body; cleaning her puffy eyes from the crying and look at Lelouch, that was standing in front of her. Lelouch saw the slap coming and do nothing to dodge or parry it; he deserved it, in fact he was glad that Kallen seems to have forgotten about the knife hidden in her hand pouch, otherwise, he suspected he would have been stabbed, instead of just slapped.

The slap echoed in the empty halls of the Academy, the class, has already begun, but that was far from Lelouchs and Kallens attentions right now. It didn't hurt as much as Lelouch has feared, well, not in the physical department, to his heart however, it has been worse than the blade, Suzaku put through it; far, far worst. For the second time in less than an hour, Lelouch fell all his mental schemes crumble and fly off the window, when Kallen grab him by the collar of his jacket and drag into her, smashing her lips into his, in a desperate kiss, trying to convey thousands of unsaid words, thousands of emotions and thoughts; into one, passionate and frenzied kiss.

Leloch emotions were as rampant as Kallens, he tightened his hug, fiercely hugging the woman, pushing her more into his body, grabbing her waist and the back of her head, never, never letting her beautiful and fierce queen go. Both drank heavily from each other presence, what was a kiss, soon became a heated battle of tongues, each one of them trying to savor to the millimeter the mouth and tongue of the other, there was a primal passion in their embrace; Kallen fingers nailing the strong back of Lelouch, lost in the daze of having him back, and in her arms.

The world just disappeared to both of them, they could only think about the wonderful taste of the one that was kissing them; lust that has been denied, and in denial for so long, was finally answered and reciprocated; all their nervous system was on overload, at the pure, unadulterated sensations that their deep and lustful kiss was provoking on both of them.

Finally, biology was the only force in nature that could put them apart, as they need to breath, well, at last in Kallen case, as she groaned, forcefully obliged to separate herself from the man she loved, hated and respected all in one, very frustrating; and somehow enhanced; package. She didn't let him go, still hugging him by her dear life, but she was breathing heavily, lost in the daze of the kiss, her hot breath was at a mere inch from the lips of Lelouch, who has firmly grab her by the waist. A thick trail of saliva still connected the two lovers mouths, slowly falling to the floor, it has been one of the hottest, delicious and pleasurable kiss of their lives; it was not that kiss in the stairs of the Academy, that has been a good bye kiss, a sad and painful kiss.

This was completely different, this was...fuck, they are at a lost of word about what has just happened.

Kallen was looking at Lelouch, a bit confused about his new body, and in general about the entire situation, on where both were, she remembered how the paradise went sour at the hands of Shcneizel; she remembered seen him die at the hands of that asshole of Suzaku.

"Kallen" softly and tenderly called Lelouch to the woman in his arm " Kallen, I am sorry, I cause you pain, I, I".

Kallen stop his ramblings, by kissing him again, but not the hungry and furious way the previous time, this was a tender and lovely kiss, softly kissing his lips, comforting him.

"Lelouch, Lelouch you asshole, why didn't you trust me?" Kallen buried her head in the crock of his neck, tears about to fall again " why do you have to die?, you idiot, you fucking idiot, I love you, I love you" muttered her digging her nails in his back, trying to make sure, he was still in her arms.

"My Queen" Lelouch combed her hair, he loved her red crimson hair but when it was spiky and unruly as she was " I am sorry, I deserved death, but I was blind in sorrow and sadness; I fail to all of you and the Zero Requiem".

"Idiot!" whispered Kallen punching his chest with no real strength " how come sacrificing yourself would save anything!?" berated Kallen " I cried for weeks!, what sense had the world if you were not on it?".

"I am sorry, Kallen" ringed the truth in the voice of Lelouch "I am very sorry, I cause you sorrow, I fail to all of you, and now, Pandora gave me this chance, a chance to get things right and I will begin, with something I should have done long ago".

Lelouch take the chin of the woman and raised her face, so he could kiss her, answering her previous and emotion filled kiss with his own; unconsciously, his aura, his power flared, soft and warm, enveloping them in a flimsy cocoon; gold and black coloured; filling every cell of Kallen with the presence of Lelouch. Lelouch parted lips with the dazed woman, a new trail of saliva hanging between them, and looking directly at her eyes, Lelouch said three single words.

"I love you".

Those are powerful words, those are very, very powerful words, they carried all the weight of the emotions that he has been suppressing, it carried a lot of thoughts, a lot of doubts, they carried, the gilt and the regret of not being said before, they carried the truth that lurk within the tormented soul of the black haired teen, now turned Campione.

Kallen was in cloud nine after that kiss, her head was a complete turmoil, did he just confess to her?, but it shouldn't be that way, no?, it was impossible, Lelouch was Ice king, he has buried his emotions under layer and layer of hate, anger and pain, and now...

Weakly Kallen take his face, his beautiful and powerful face; she has seen Pandora, she has seen what Lelouch truly was now, she was a little scared of the Campione and at the same time, she has fall even deeper in love with her Black King. Lelouch smiled and put his strong and delicate hands over hers, never leaving her eyes, so she could see that he was not lying, that he was completely honest, that he loved her with all his heart; there was the glint of the truth in those eyes.

Their lips connected once again, a mutual confirmation of what they had in their hearts, that at last, they were together; they have need a second life-time to be finally reunited; but it has been totally worth it. They keep making out in the middle of the hall, completely oblivious to anything that wasn't the sweet lips of their lover, however, all good things must reach and end; Lelouch ears picked in the distance, the worried voice of Rivalz, calling for him.

Multitasking a little, he sook out for any disturbances in the systems of the Academy and he picked up the most recently flash news in the official TV Channel of the Area Eleven, it does seems that Fate has a bone to pick with Suzaku. Once again, he has been framed with the murder of Clovis, when Lelouch; after all, he was there; knew perfectly well, that Clovis blowjobbed a 45 caliber and it went with a bang directly against his palate.

It has been a nasty image, but if Clovis suicide, how the hell has they manage to cook up some evidence to blame him?, latter he will talk to Jeremiah, he was not really surprised for the news, after all, the Purebloods would have found a scapegoat, being Suzaku or not was irrelevant, although, it did help him to make his grandiose entrance. Reluctantly separating himself from the lips of Kallen, he caressed her check and smiled.

"Rivalz is coming" pointed Lelouch over his shoulder to the halls " it does seems that Suzaku has managed to get himself arrested once again".

"Uh" was the clever response of the girl, who just wanted to make out a little more, scratch that, she wanted to make out a lot, lot more.

A very unpleasant thought filter in her mind, she has the knowledge of what was Lelouch now, and for what she could deduct, it was clear that C.C loved Lelouch as much as she. The crush Shirley had on him was painfully clear, and Lelouch has more than once said that he didn't recognize how much he loved the orange haired Brittannian until it was too late; add the crazy but strong willed Kaguya-sama to the mix and Lelouch as was in, for a lot, lot of women problems in the future. Kallen, knew that Lelouch was sincere, she could fell his power dancing over her skin; making it crawl, and carving the desire for more; as it protected her and allow both lover to be more attuned, to do not fall into misunderstandings and confusions, like they did in the past; unable to convey each other feelings.

Intervening his fingers with hers, Lelouch whispered in her ear.

"Later, Kallen, I will teld you everything you wanted, no more secrets, no more hiding and lying; not from you" with a last squeeze, Lelouch walk into the halls, calling the nervous Rivalz.

Kallen on the other hand, just stood where she was standing since the beginning of the conversation, her mind running in a hundred different directions, her thoughts and emotions pulling her in a dozen of different reactions and conclusions.

However, after five minutes, she just look around her, looking for any unwanted witnesses and when she discovered she was alone, she just fist pumped in the air with a radiant smile in her blushing face. Pity for her Lelouch has already several cams of the building directed at her, recording the wonderful image forever, and gaining some very valuable blackmail for latter; still, he has to recognize Kallen was cute as hell, when she was like that.

Area Eleven News Building/Boardroom

Diethard had a face splitting smiled plastered on his gaunt face.

This has been the greatest night of his entire career as journalist, he has been bored, sicked and disgusted with the official policy of his channel since he put a foot in Area Eleven; this was not journalism, this was nothing but glorified propaganda of how good the influence of the Brittannian government was on all the Areas they conquered. He knew better than all that; as a former war journalist, he has seen the worst of the humankind, in all form and shapes, and all this bullshit of the Brittannian propaganda, just made him sick.

But then, the miracle happened.

This night, one hour ago, a masked man has completely obliterated all the facades of the Brittannian military, had made them appear like fools and rescued an innocent eleven, framed from an assassination that didn't even exist, Clovis has shot himself!, how rich was that?.

The night has started at the usual, boring way, Diethard has taken his team, grab a van and park it the press reserved spot in the parody of a parole the Purebloods of the Viceroy had orchestrated, in order to bring a poor sod called Kururugi to his martial court, and possible execution. Diethard, knew that name, it was from the old war reports, the old Prime minister he believed. The crew set up the place, they started to sing praises of the deceased, they carry out with all the Channel demanded of them; after all they depend on the fucking channel to get their salaries every month; and in general being the good pencil pushers, the Brittannian government wanted them to be.

Not really need to say, that Diethard was very, very, disappointed with his bosses, the fuckers had a thousand of skeletons in the closets, and Diethard knew all of them, it was simply that he didn't have any reason to air them, what for?, what good will come from it?, another will take their place, and they could even be worse that the ones they are now. But as the fame of hidden ruthlessness of Clovis spread among the Nobility, the resistance groups keep fucking the place and the population just grow fat and lazy on the money, all the higher ups of the TV just wanted to cash they substantial bribes and keep sucking on the udder of the Viceroy corrupted government.

At some point, the frustrated and bored reporter had even considered the possibility of being back in the war journalism; but the good life he was living in Area Eleven shoot down that thoughts almost immediately. It was almost impossible to actually find a good Cappuccino in the middle of a war zone, and he has more than accustom to three dairy meals and hot water on the shower of his cozy and big apartment. He knew that he was not so different from the ones that he criticized, but at the same time, he was waiting for the right moment, he knew, as possible any with half a brain in Area Eleven, that the situation will explode at some point.

That at some moment, the JDF will do something stupid and blow something really important, warranting a death sentence to all the country; but Diethard will be more than happy to cover the spectacle; however, he was boringly looking at the convoy of frames; _Sutherlands_ all of them, carrying a crucified boy in the front. Diethard lean on his chair, remembering the scene, he has been smiling since the end of the debacle, and now, along a dozen of the best reporters of the channel, they were trying to actually make any sense of the events that has taken place not a couple of hours ago.

He moved forward and take a little tablet from the desk; it was the unedited, raw, footage of the event, when the appearance of the bastardized car of Prince Clovis has blocked the road and the Brittannian flag over it was suddenly burned to the ashes. Then, he or she, or whatever the hell the masked person was; has made its appearance, just in front of his stunned face, who was already sporting a face splitting smile.

Diethard was a veteran of a lot of shit; from massacres, to battlefields. With that in mind, he has meet some of the most dangerous men and women on earth, from the Knights of the Round; as he recorded some of the most spectacular and gruesome actions of the said warriors; to other countries' toughest mother fuckers, like the Rommel desert foxes or the Area 24 guerrillas. But none of them, famous or infamous, had a shadow of the presence the masked thing had.

Diethard suspected the masked to be male, mostly for the absence of female proportions when the cape he wore over his frame opened, revealing a purple suit that would perfectly fit in the Brittannian nobility trends of today. Proud, confident, standing over the ashes of the flag; ashes that seems to dance around him, not even daring to touch his clothes; the masked man bowed in regal manners to all the stunned crowd in front of him and with a voice that made Diethard skeleton almost run out of his body, presented himself to the world. The tablet in front of him was mute, and yet Diethard couldn't but shiver at the memory of the voice, that voice was inhuman, no living being should be able to spoke in those tones, tones that made even the cameras fizzle for a second.

"**I AM ZERO"**

Diethard loved it; this was the best footage he could have ever ask; now he was again working with real news, the appearance of Zero has thrown the entire Area Eleven; scratch that; the entire world into a shocked reaction. But it was not for his flamboyant appearance; everybody who was present in that scene would never, ever, forget the sensation of the presence of Zero waving over all of them, like the light of the sun that was over you in the morning; when Zero spoke and made his appearance, all the witnesses shivered, terrified and unconsciously drawn to him. That was not trick, it was fucking impossible, he would have to be the best magician on earth; and the poor Diethard didn't know how close he was to the truth; to actually manage to hypnotize, convince or whatever the hell has he done to completely enrapture hundreds of civilians, military personnel and news crews.

Diethard push the bar of the video back, and studied the frame of the masked man; judging for the stature and leaving apart a couple of inches from the helmet, the man should be around the six feet and some inches; his body was in very fit shape, that purple suit he wears leave not very much to the imagination. With a chuckle, he noticed that the gossip channels and programs will devour any footage of this fellow in spoons; he was the wet dream of any teenager, and no few old ladies, still, and even if he was right about being a male; Diethard has to admit, that there was an androgynous aura around it. But it was not his dastardly appearance what call back Diethard attention; it has been completely impossible to the record to actually capture it, but the reporter has to admit that the masked man was terrifying. Leaving the tablet on the desk and taking his worm and ragged, notebook, Diethard started to scribble in the paper, with swift and clean calligraphy.

That presence of him...that was terrifying and at the same time, it was like those time when he was in the churches and temples of half the world, that sensation that only real faithful places had around him, when true believers join and pray whatever gods they worship.

Diethard frowned.

Faith?, really now?, that would be a complete nonsense; he has experimented enough of a lot of so called saints, to know that the majority of them, were nothing but complete bullshit, but this, this was unbelievable, this defied logic and reason, it was complete irrational. He quickly wrote a gaunt and quick profile of the masked man.

Six feet tall, body of a professional swimmer, high education, Brittannian style uniform, high connected, resourceful and the best showman Diethard has had the pleasure of ever see in action; during all the event, the parole, the actions he took to free the captive eleven, everything was nothing but a humongous performance. Tapping on the notebook, Diethard suddenly remembered a very old line, from a veteran, a scotch soldier, an infantry sod that has been dragging his sorry and drunken ass on all the wars the Brittannian Empire has been creating for the last two decades. He and his team, has just survived from an ambush of a bunch of Area 24 crazy commandos, the Lobisomes; somewhere along the Pyrenees, they had been tear apart by the commandos, and the soldier was still affected for the massacre.

He said that some of his soldiers had been praying to whatever god they worship, before having to get back in the hunting lair that was those mountains, but as he just snorted and drink half a bottle of rotten scotch in one single gulp, before looking at Diethard and say:

"God is a fucking comedian, acting for a public, so scared that they have forgotten how does one laugh".

This was very similar, when the presence of Zero waved over them, Diethard noticed how his throat went parched dry, recording all with his own camera, and smiling like a madman, at the appearance of the first bastard that has told Brittannia to go fuck themselves.

"Ha!, this bastard is even better than Santa Claus" laughed one of his fellow reporters, taking Diethard out of his mussing.

He could relate to that statement, as proof of how serious he was, Zero has managed to hack into the Viceroy database and show to the entire world, how insubstantial the proofs against Suzaku were; delivering a, juicy as hell, package of info, directly at the servers of all news agency in Area Eleven. The entire board of directors of the channel had a collective orgasm when they saw what Zero has actually delivered to them, free of charge, and after that, they shit themselves, as the one with a brain told them about how easily has Zero broke into one of the most secure databases of the world and then pierce through their own systems, to send mails directly at their private addresses.

Diethard pushed the bar of the video forward, after his grandiose entrance and how has he show the Pureblood; leaded by a man called Kenwell or something like that; after how has he screw up the parole, that fuckers life wad completely forfeit, no doubt of that; that he was actually serious game, he has been informing all the world of how Clovis actually, blow his own head!.

A Prince of the Empire, suicide?, in the middle of his own G-1 mobile base?; that was pure gold, specially considering how all the Princes and Princesses in all the world are supposed to be a superior kind of breed, and now, one of those superior breed suicide, after a colossal screw up of his military forces. Zero has been relentless with the Purebloods; the military faction of pure Brittannian blood knights was the star of a lot of actions against the eleven people, flawless lead by the Margrave Gottwald. Diethard has interview the man once, he was a knight to the bone, no doubt of that, but there was a heavy burden on him, he was polite and answered all the question he made without fault, yet, Diethard had already interviewed enough soldiers, to recognize that gray shade in the shadow of the eyes, that shade of those that had lost something precious.

Speaking of that; said Leader of the Purist Faction, was comfortably being drown in paperwork; his new post as Temporary Viceroy was more than enough for him to deal, to add this complete mess up to his, already more to full plate.

When the news get him, he soon called a press conference on where he explained that he had no idea of all this; that Kewell was a man of his full trust, and he couldn't believe what has transpired in the first appearance of Zero. Speaking of which, he was the most visited and downloaded video on the net; and Diethard could not blame nobody for it; the man was charismatic, with a knack for the dramatic entranced and speeches; imposing as a bloody god, and armed with knowledge and how to use it to hammer the last nail of the coffin of the Purist Faction.

What did send Diethard in a loop, was how Zero has managed to convince Kewell, that it good be a good idea, to let Suzaku go, no matter if at the end, the container behind him was the supposedly containment of a dangerous poisonous gas. And in reality was nothing but colored gas, by the way, another bitch slap for the Purist Faction. There was a very interesting history about that canister, and boy, Zero made the greatest show of it, in the middle of the bridge where all of this was happening, and charming his audience with a tale of death and secrets. Diethard closed his notebook and smiled, he has feed on it, in spoons; it was great, a secret, hidden in the Viceroy own courtyard, a project, that no one even has never heared about, a secret that Jeremiah look in confusion when they ask him about, it and Diethard knew that he man has no idea what the hell were they talking about; he was not that good of an actor.

Playing with the tablet, Diethard made zoom into the imposing figure of Zero, trying to discern something that could give him a lead about who was the man under the mask, a tic, a gesture, an accent in his speech patterns. He was using a voice scrambler, and yet, it was like hearing the voice of god, hammering in your skull. Ah, the moment of the Knightmares, that was great stuff.

Kewell has hid four _Sutherlands_ in the zeppelins on the sky, hidden as propaganda from the Brittannians, it has been clever from him, to have a quick reaction force, hide in plain sight. But then the first miracle happened, and when Diethard saw it, his camera almost follow the way his jaw hung open, along the jaws of everybody present and the jaws of half of the world who was seeing it, live.

Zero take a device from his cape, and after pushing a button on it, just ordered, in a lazy, condescending manner to all the _Sutherlands _to kneel and shutdown; and the frames just did that!; he just ordered a machine to fell and the frames obeyed him. In the stunned and gaping silence of the entire audience, Zero store his device back into the cape and in mocking manners, told all the world how easily, truly easily, was to hack into the comms devices of the _Sutherlands_ and slip a virus on their systems, so with an easy order, they went into standby. Diethard had paid a thousand pounds of his own salary to get pictures of that moment, from all possible angle, bribing, blackmailing, menacing, or whatever is need to see the success from every possible point of view; looking for the clue that could allow him to pierce the magician illusion.

But there was no trick, Zero was authentic, he has done what no living hacker has been able to accomplish in a decade; and when Diethard run through the pictures, there was one, so special that it was going to star the first page of all publications; solid and digital. It has been taken by accident, by an aerial drone, when he was passing right near the bridge; the four frames where surrounding the car on where Zero was standing, and in the adequate perspective, it does seems like the machines were kneeling to his king; the wind of the bridge was wallowing the cape of Zero, and that was the moment on where he had, his hand stretched forward.

It was a powerful image; it was the day of the Chinese student that stood in the way of the tanks in Pekin, it was like the day Washington and Brittannia reached a consensus, it was a modern Arthur Pendragon ordering his knights around. Diethard has never fell a pull like this to a history; this was way beyond ever his more ambitious dreams; the chronicle of a living god, in a world, half consumed by the Brittannian Empire, in a world of hypocrisy; this man dared to stand and made a declaration.

And what was even better, he actually made it!.

After he and the gaping and flabbergasted Kewell exchange words; and the secret of the hidden projects and true face of Prince Clovis was show to the entire world; to the added surprise of the entire planet, Kewell actually agreed with Zero. They freed Suzaku, who looks as out of balance of the rest. Diethard, zoom into the neck of the boy; the children of the Prime minister Kururugi, and now scapegoat of Brittannia; and he immediately recognized what kind of prisoner collar does the boy had.

In the past he has done movies and documentary about how Brittannia handled its prisoners and it was a very nasty piece of work; that device would send a painful and nerve clenching electric shock, into the system of anyone who tried to talk with that thing on him. It does seems, they wouldn't allow him, even to try to defend himself from the accusations; accusations, that were now posted in the open, so anyone with half a brain and a phone capable of connecting to the net could be able to download them. Stumbling, as it was clear that the boy has been roughed up, to make him docile for the exhibition of his own martial court; he reached the side of Zero, that suddenly opened his cape, and like a magician of older ages, disappeared along the rescued boy, in an explosion of green gas.

All the Purist Faction tried to maintain order, and among them, only Villetta Nu show being half worth, as she coordinated the action of the forces around, to evacuate the civilians, and even tried to chase Zero, just to being shot down by Kewell, as he tackled her frame with his own. It has been a complete chaos, yet, there has been not even a single casualty, in any side, not civilians, not military; well, excluding the damages on the frames of Villetta and Kewell as they fight for decision of chasing after Zero or let him go.

The few open words that they have exchanged, showed how betrayed and confused was Villetta with her superior officer, and how zealot was the man in his idea of protecting the Project Orange; whatever it was, but there was something in it, that make Diethard instincts. crawled in anticipation of a juicy prey; even from the rest of the Purist Faction. The blonde journalist found it very curious, after all, how come a political survivor like Kewell, suddenly became so defensive over the honor and secrets of Prince Clovis?, there was something very odd in all this, and Diethard could smell an amazing history, a history he will cover.

This was exactly what he wanted, no, what he needed; a new history, one that defies the established order and bring some fresh air, to the already more than corrupted and stagnant peoples of this world. The board room was an uproar, the people was mussing, the impressive performance, Zero has put for all the world to see, has made half of the world suddenly turn his gaze to Area Eleven, one of the few precious spots of Sakuradite in the world. Diethard joined the rest of his professional companions; the world was carving for some Zero, need, to know what and who was the mysterious man that has completely obliterated the Britannian military, first in the Shinjuku ghetto, and latter in front of hundreds of people.

The world will eat everything Zero related, and Diethard pretended to feed them with it, until they are sated; somewhere inside him, Diethard knew Zero was the real deal, a living god has come to take the world in a storm, and he will record all of it.

It really was the work of a life.

Area Eleven Ghetto/Wrecked bridge

Lelouch sighed under his mask, what he wanted to do, was not what he was doing right now, and he was pretty much sure, Kallen and C.C were greatly enjoying his frustration. The rescue of Suzaku has gone without a hitch, they had managed to grab the young man and run the hell out of there, before anyone competent enough, could sum the dots and start shooting at them. Villetta for example; if it wasn't for the intervention of Kewell, Lelouch would have been obliged to show another of his aces in the hole, the ability to project a protective shield, fueled by his own divine power. Inside his soul,[ Black King] taught him how to project the protection and what where their strong and weak points. It was called [Divine Protection] and it was something that practically all the Campiones shared, but don't really used very much, unless it was to protect his vassals and loved ones.

That damn mocha skinned woman was a pain in the ass, even in this new reality, but he couldn't really blame her for being the strong and capable knight she was; it was going to be a pleasure to have her under his command again, and this time allow her and Ohgi to see their children grow and be happy, in the world they deserved. They managed to smuggle the boy into one of the ghettos and finally, stop into one abandon bridge, under what there was a wrecked _Glasgow_, rusted and forgotten, among the hubris of what once, was a proud construction.

Zero, has asked the rest of the rebels, to allow him to have a chat, alone, with the Brittannian private, and despite the contempt everyone show at Suzaku, they allowed it; not need to mention that only Kallen was comfortable with him, they all fear the masked man, they always tiptoed around him; there was something on him that scared the shit outta them; even Tamaki was specially silent when the masked monster was around. Not that they do not respect the man, fuck, after the miracle he has performed, after how has utterly devastated all credibility of the Purist Faction and how has he saved a fellow Japanese; no matter if he was a traitor, the least they can do, was to left them alone, for whatever Zero wanted.

Lelouch, hiding under Zero mask, has been staring at Suzaku for an entire minute, not very sure how to proceed, but at the end, he kept the original script and ask Suzaku to join the Black knights, they hadn't debuted yet, but they will be, and it will be glorious. However, that has lead to a debate about the ethics of Zero and the nature of war; he has forgotten how naive, this Suzaku was, still virgin from all the suffering they had cause to each other; he hated to do this to the man, but he will need a very hard kick in the bollocks to awoke him.

Euphemia deserved the best knight he could give her, after all, he own that much to her sister, enough has he screw it up the first time.

"I see" said Lelouch facing Suzaku, and the violet eyed boy didn't like at all the flinch; his old friend, rival, nemesis, and in general complete pain in the ass; did when he stared at him, under the opaque glass of his Zero mask.

"Fret not, Kururugi" waved Lelouch at Suzaku " I had no intention of harm you, you don't deserve it, no matter how much you are determined to be punished".

"I don't seek punishment" protested Suzaku, but his tense posture, something that Lelouch only have seen on him when he was ready for a fight.

Lelouch sighed, if only the poor bastard knew.

"Kururugi-san" said Lelouch, in perfect and fluent Japanese, shocking the hell out of Suzaku, that didn't expect that at all.

"Please, relax, I will not attack you, is just that I want to know, why were you so determined to be executed?, and I beg your forgiveness in advance, if I offend you in some manner, but is not hard enough to be an Honorary Brittannian, to look out for more suffering?".

Suzaku open his mouth to retort, but then the presence of Zero waved over him again; Suzaku was a very competent and skilled martial artist, he could recognize danger and Killing intent with easiness, but this man under that imposing mask, was something off the charts. It was like chatting with a bored dragon, you fear when the beast is about to get tired of the conversation and simply tear you apart; and in some odd way, Suzaku know that this man carried no ill-intent towards him. A complete novelty for what Suzaku knew of the world, he was a number for his superiors and a Brittannian lap dog for his kinsmen; no matter where he go, he was diminished and despised; with that in mind, it was a refreshing experience, that a damn beast in human skin, was actually speaking to him in a perfect and polite Japanese, treating him even with honorifics.

"I am a soldier" respond Suzaku, with his throat dry " I knew, I am innocent".

"Suzaku-san, can I call you Suzaku?" asked the Zero with a loud sigh under his mask "your execution was already programmed" inform Zero, showing Suzaku the screen of the same device, he used to hack into the frames of the bridge; in appearance it was a common phone.

In the screen, it was written his execution not an hour after, he reached the martial court.

Suzaku was at a lost of words, they were going to kill him?, as easy as that?, it can't be, there must be a mistake.

"I know, is cruel, it's enraging and it hurts" commented the man, turning of the screen " to see that those you trusted, betrays you; I have seen it before, and is not a pretty sight, never it is" the unmistakeable sound of pain, regret and sadness.

Suzaku was taken aback from those words, and the emotions that they convey, they were to similar to their own, to those sleepless nights where the sound of his wakizashi cutting deep into living flesh, to the sound of his best friend being obliterated by a missile; to ear his fellow kinsmen shoot to death by his comrades in arms. It does seems that Zero was not the terrorist, he believed he was, but still, his methods were wrong, he was caused more harm that good, he must end or Brittannia will react, as Clovis did, and completely vaporize the country. Only the assassination of his own father stopped them at that time, as Japan surrendered to the inevitable, the Knightmares were too much for any army, until they became a common thing, but even then, and as a pilot of the _Lancelot_, he knew that it was only a matter of time before, all the military machinery of Brittannia set his eyes on Area Eleven, and erase it from existence.

"Zero-san, I thank you for saving my life" deeply bowed Suzaku, it was common courtesy to the man, who has actually saved his lame ass of a programmed execution but still, he knew that he couldn't run.

Despite, the hate and the prejudices, he was the best shot, the Japanese had to escalate in the Area Eleven, if he could reach a position of power, he could change the system for the better, and slowly, making things easier and better for his fellow countrymen.

"Think nothing of it, Suzaku-san" replied Zero with a wave of his hand " it was the right thing to do, you were blame for a crime you didn't even commit, dear lord, there wasn't even a crime to begin with, you were just a handful scapegoat".

"Although, I am thankful, I am afraid that I will still trust in the system, that there is good people in it, and that we could change it" continued the young man, if not, his passion about his ideals, was inspiring, foolish and naive, but inspiring.

Zero sighed loudly and Suzaku flinched unconsciously.

Lelouch thought about how this instinctive fearing of him everyone seems to have around him was starting to become quiet a bother, does all the Campione deal with this shit?, it was worse than being a Prince of the Empire, this instinctive fear of him, seems to be an instinctive response to his presence, like when there is a dangerous predator around. And here he was, believing that he had his power under control, thankfully his Geass was, firmly chained inside [Black King] but his divine power was slowly slipping from him, making him look frightening and make everyone around him, act like they were in the cage with a dozen hungry lions.

"I respect you, you are an idealistic idiot, but I respect you" said Zero and Suzaku blinked a pair of times, he didn't expect that, in all, he was expecting to be shot in the back at any moment for rejecting the offering to join the resistance group.

"Suzaku-san, in any other circumstances, in any other world" started Zero, still standing on the top of the broken frame "I couldn't agree more with you, but in this world; this corrupted and decadent world, will fight you to the bone, before you could change a single thing".

Suzaku was about to protest but Zero raise his hand and the young eleven immediately shut the hell up; he knew when he was sorely outclassed, and despite his skill as martial artist, the presence of Zero was the most frightening and scaring thing he has ever meet.

Not even Todoh sensei most intense killing intent could hold a candle to the presence of Zero, and he was not even trying.

"But, as I have said, I respect your ideals and strong will" Zero waved him goodbye, dismissing him, like and Emperor who has lost the patient with a vassal " you are free to go, good luck out there Suzaku-san, however, allow me to give you a last piece of advice".

Suzaku unconsciously stand in attention, much like he was, when he was learning from Todoh-sensei, this Zero character makes that a lot, forcing you to just react instinctively to his presence.

"Your vision of the world, will inevitably lead you to a position between the wall and a sword; it is a miracle it haven't happen already; when that day come, please remember, that you will always have an ally in me, and do not hesitate to ask for my help".

"I...thank you for your words Zero-san" bowed Suzaku, really wanting to get the hell outta there " now, if you excuse me".

The young eleven almost run out of the place, almost clashing against a very entertained C.C, who was waiting in the shadows of the entrance, when the boy exited in a rush, informing the rest of this resistance cell that his conversation was over; C.C took the chance to have some private words with her Warlock. Lelouch was still sitting in the head of the broken Knightmare, and thanks to the link, he and C.C shared as user and contractor, she could sense the immense strain that all this has been for Lelouch, in fact, his presence was not even a tenth of what has been when Suzaku was around; as she feared, his power reacted to his emotions, and despite all Lelouch wanted to appear as; he was a very kind soul, with a lot of torment and regret inside of him.

She knew a thing or two about that; one doesn't pass centuries roaming the earth and do not regret something at some point, she just deal with it better than the rest, thanks to the continuous practice. She walked to his side and hugged her masked head to her chest, she will never admit it, but she loved to be close to his radiating presence. C.C was a lonely slave at the beginning; she was taken by a nun that betrayed her and forced C.C to bear her code; despite all that, or perhaps because she has already been in C world, she knew how does a god look and feels.

But Lelouch was different, she was closer to a real deity now, and she loved the sensation, a sensation that she longed for all her life, now that desire was fulfilled in the body and power of the violet eyed Campione.

She liked the name a lot, Campione, it had a nice ring.

She was really grateful to Pandora, the woman; along the other Campione, the giant called Magnus; that has made all of this miracle possible. Pandora was like her, she loved to mess with her children, but she was a complete mother hen for all of them, even if they had been turn into dark paths, after all, Devil Kings, Campiones, or whatever they are called in all ages, are beings that could not be defined by any rational thought.

"It´s ok, my Warlock" whispered the woman "there will be another time, and he had to meet Euphy, as you planned".

"It still hurts, my Witch" confessed Lelouch "but you are right, this is not the appropriate time".

"Will you still go ahead and tell all the truth to Ohgi and the rest?" she asked, C.C had kind of confronted thoughts about that, even after all that has happened, she still remembers how them all betrayed him, paying more attention to the manipulations of Schneizel, than in the man that had led them to glory and the restoration of Japan.

"Yes" said Lelouch recovering his composure, and C.C shivered from the strength of his voice, oh, he was for a long night later, she was going milk his delicious and semi divine body dry.

Not after he has said those same words, the group of resistance fighters enter in the hubris filled place, looking at him, with a mixture of awe and precaution, only Kallen smiled brightly at him, and that really bright his day.

"Well, my friends, I did promise a miracle" chuckled Zero and all of them had to admit he was right " however, I can feel your confusion and contempt, please, ask, I will answer to the best of my ability".

Ohgi, good, old and solid Ohgi was the first to step ahead and start the more than understandable series of questions, Lelouch really fell sorry for what he did to him and his wife, Villetta, another thing that he will have to fix at some point in the future.

"Sorry but, what in Kamis name are you?" asked Ohgi bluntly and even Kallen blinked for how out of character look Ohgi in that moment, he has always been the most composed of the group.

Lelouch laughed, a real laughter, it has been so long since he had one of those.

"I am something Irrational" chuckled Lelouch changing his pose of the head of the frame, and extending his hand " I am something impossible, I am a Warlock, a Devil King, a Leader, a Monster, but I will prefer to be called your ally, and in time, a friend".

"_Ok, that didn't sound ominous at all, but hell, this man scared the shit outta me"_ thought Ohgi, and possible the rest of the Yamato group, only Kallen sighed, knowing how much Lelouch loved the theatrics.

"That really explain nothing pal" said Tamaki stepping ahead "don't get my wrong, you are amazing, but for Kami sake, how the fucking hell did you managed to do all that?".

"Ah, see its belief, isn't it?" chuckled Lelouch and staring at Tamaki he just smirked under his mask and with a thought, the helmet open enough time for all of them to see the red avian symbol of Geass.

To say that it did scare the shit out of all of them, would be a understatement.

"**Tamaki, for the next half and hour, you would not say a word, unless I allow you to say it"** ordered Lelouch with Geass, not with [Black King], and he noticed how a single blood tear fall from his left eye; judging it as a new and curious secondary effect, he didn't care about it.

However, C.C and Kallen did notice the new addition to the Geass, and take good note to question Lelouch later about it. Tamaki tried to scoff, and for the eternal surprise of the Yamato group, Tamaki included, the man could only emit gurgled and incoherent sounds, none of them could be considered words at all.

"H-h-how on earth?" muttered Inoue, really, really wanting to learn that trick, but she was beaten when Yoshida actually turn to Zero and beg to be taught how the hell has managed the man, to effectively shut up the loud mouth.

Ohgi was blinking in astonishment, and C.C and Kallen along the rest of the group was actually enjoying the situation a lot.

"This is called Geass" explained Lelouch, and all of them listened very attentively to his words.

"This powers defies all reason, is impossible and irrational, however it comes with a great cost and a great burden" Lelouch leaned over the head of the frame, with his actions, gestures and words, he had all the Yamato group enraptured.

Hell, Kallen and C.C knows and still they were listening to the man; his new Campione status has only made him, even more charismatic and attractive than before.

"This helmet is not for my protection, but for yours" said Lelouch, he will tell them about Geass, but Jeremiah, Kallen, Sayoko and C.C had actually told him to do not divulge his Campione status.

That would open a complete new can of worms, the last thing he need, was to be considered a living god and starting his own cult, much like the founders of the Order did with the old gods and the creation of the Geass. Only those awoken will ever know about his Campione status and semi divine being; after all, he didn't want to commit the same mistakes and bury himself in his own lies.

Geass was shit enough to deal for all of them, to actually know that they have a bloody God Slayer walking among them.

"The crystal of the surface blocks all the Geass influence" continued Lelouch " otherwise, I would Geassed all of you as soon as you lock eyes with me, and so far I have only Geassed Tamaki, and it will vanish in half an hour".

"Wait" said Ohgi " are you telling me that you have to wear that helmet, all the time?".

"Partially" nodded Lelouch " this mask prevents me to do something stupid or to commit an enormous mistake, a slip in my words and I could cause tremendous harm" the pain and regret in Lelouch voice was real, it actually hurts to listen.

"But, I have contact lenses and other equipment that allow me to lead a relatively normal life" confessed Lelouch, it was the truth after all, however, and thanks to his _Authority, _he not longer need any of them, but he had them stored nearby, wondering if they will be useful in the future " of course, I will give you contact lenses, glasses, visors, whatever you think you need to feel safe".

"Thanks" said Inoue simply, she has always been the rock of the group, it was a pity she died, during the Black Rebellion, something that is Not going to happen this time.

"In fact" Lelouch snapped his fingers and all of them received a long and detailed E-mail in their phones; those who had one with that capabilities, of course; explaining how to build or customize their own visors and glasses with Geass repelling crystals.

"What?, this is...how did you?"Yoshida has always being the tech head of the group and he knew how difficult was what Zero has done, after all, he has just send an e-mail, into off the grind phones.

"I am some kind of tech wiz" chuckled Lelouch " that's how I hack into the Viceroy database and get all kind of info, and that's how I programmed a routine inside the _Sutherland_ systems so they would shut down, when they received a specific package of data".

"Oh..." Yoshida was at a loss of words, the rest of the group has turned to him for an explanation, and he only could look at them, as dumfounded as the rest.

"He is some kind of machine god" shrugged Yoshida and Zero laughed, if only he knew, uh, that was slowly turning into a very common expression these days " the kind of skill needed to do something like that is off the charts, not even the hackers of the Six families; and we are talking about really genius on their fields; could pull something like that of their hats".

"Well, thanks for the compliment, my friend" said Zero with amusement in his voice, he loved to be Zero, he loved to be the hero; enough has he played the role of villain, but alas, he knew that he will have to play it again.

The group just stare at him, who was comfortably sitting on the head of the frame, waiting patiently to all their questions, it did become a long chat, one that he has never had previously with none of them; always hiding his own thoughts, to never trust them, they were only pieces of the chessboard.

Well, No more of that.

By Pandora!, it was time for a completely new revolution.

Viceroy Palace/Jeremiah temporary Office.

It was official, Villetta hated her officer.

She hated him more than anything in the world, right now.

Two days, two fucking days, and they hadn't even begun to reduce the amount of paperwork, those fuckers of the administrative department left in their desk every single morning, she has filled the same dammed document a dozen of times, for a dozen different departments. And the document in question was nothing but a memo, a fill that only served to inform all of them that Jeremiah was the temporary Viceroy until another one was sent from Pendragon to deal with this enormous pile of shit.

All has gone to hell, since the Shinkuju Battle, or better said, the Shinjuku , Kick-all-the-Brittannian-ass-you-can-find festival; not the best moment of the Brittannian army, not by far, and even less for the Purist Faction. A faction that didn't even exist anymore, after the absolute madness Kewell did, in that joke of a trial of that Kururugi kid, and how has he absolutely humiliated himself and by default, all the Purebloods, Jeremiah itself has to disband the group and arrest almost ninety percent of them into the Viceroy cells; all pending for interrogation.

God, Jeremiah look like a shit when he appeared in front of the cameras; his face could not hide the horror and betrayed he felt when he received the news of how bad has Kewell screwed up the chance he has give to him. She was not a master strategist but she was clever enough to know that the fall of his friends weighted a ton on Jeremiah, and he did seem so different not a day ago, like he finally has got laid, a circumstance that Villetta will not pry into. Jeremiah has made of the secretiveness of his life, an art, there was nothing of him into any tabloid, appart of the official apparitions of the now, almost extinct purebloods. However, she was there, when he listened to the tale of how Zero has spoken about the dirty secrets of Prince Clovis, and the only one that did made Jeremiah flinch, was Project Orange, she has no idea what it was, but the expression on the face of Jeremiah, and his eyes, was proof enough fort her to know, that it must be the real clusterfuck or the kind of things that makes and OSI black team hunt you like the Baskerville Dog.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, has been the last two days, dealing with the incompetence of all the fucking government of the Area, half of them were nothing but pencil pushers, and the other half were corrupted beyond measure, growing complacent in the money and luxury that Clovis did seem to fancy on every aspect of his life. The Magrave was sporting a permanent scowl since yesterday, and Villetta has his own frown etched into her beautiful face, it was a torture to be chained to a desk, considering how both of them were actual soldiers and not politician. Not to mention, it has been two very stressful days, first how the Princess Euphemia has managed to scape from his bodyguards and land directly in the arms of the Kururugi kid, and the second, when Kewell ambushed Jeremiah and her, hiding under the pretext of explaining to him what has happened.

All the Purist Faction, with her and James as an exception, where already walking to the gallows for that stunt, specially when the fucking Princess Eupheamia herself appeared and bringing the _Lancelot _with her, she ordered all of them to stop. When the Purist resisted, Villeta, Jeremiah and Suzaku obliterated all of them. They were dead man walking by now, it was a matter of time, before Cornelia Li Brittannia kill them all; they have dared to disobey her orders, insubordinate against the order of a Princess and tried to kill a Margrave of the Empire.

Villetta just hope that it was not Jeremiah the one who must hold the trigger of the rifle, the day of the execution, fortunately, Cornelia seems to have her own little bastard of an executioner, a monster called Magnus, a survivor from Area Five; otherwise know as Iceland; when the war against the EU make Brittannia practically obliterate the place. Anyhow, she was just waiting patiently for her own execution, even if she has been absolved of any involvement in the death of Clovis and find her free of charges about the treason that Kewell has done, she knew that Cornelia will never trust her at all.

She paled when she learned that it will be the Second Princess Cornelia, the one that was about to come to Area Eleven to put the country in order; the Witch of Brittannia has a very well deserved fame of being like a bulldozer; where she steps, the enemy is completely obliterated; and her sudden retreat from the Arabian front, has only made her, even more mad than the usual. She has come latter than her sister, mostly because, Princess Euphemia was mostly out of the military affairs, she was not a soldier, although she is one hell of a diplomat, as the court rumors said.

Together, they are an invincible duo, the steel fist surrounded by velvet; the sisters were one of the most dangerous pair in the Empire, and they have come to this forsaken piece of shit called Area Eleven. Jeremiah has already predicted it; he has feared this two would be selected and he feared they will come in warpath, specially Cornelia, as she loved the Vi Brittannia siblings; both of them lost in the early days of the invasion of Japan. Lost in thought, she sent all the paperwork to hell, and laid over the desk, nursing a headache for all the office work she has been doing, and hated with a passion; now, she will appreciate some whiskey that Jeremiah seems to hid in each one of his offices.

He had one in the Viceroy Palace, as Temporary Viceroy, but seeing the replica of Aries Villa of the upper plants, was enormously painful for the man, who has suffered one of the worst loses of his life in a place identical to the replica in the Viceroy palace. He once said, that he could still see the blood on the stairs and the terrified expressions of both siblings, when they saw their mother mangled body. That's why, he passed all his time in the same office as Villetta was; the office he had as leader of the Purist Faction was in the palace too, and he could deal with the administrative paperwork and at the same time, keep controlling all the forces he could manage to find, in order to present a united front against Cornelia.

He has already explained to them, clear and simple, keep your fucking noses clean and Cornelia will not shoot you in the head with her dammed pistol cane; it does seems that only James and she has payed attention to that advice. She knew it, fuck, she has seen it, but now that she was chained to a desk; dealing with all the shit of the paperwork; she could really understand how fucking rotten, the administration of Clovis was. This was nuts, nothing is done on time, or at last, something that did not includes some juicy bribes in form of extra payment, gifts, or whatever subtle way they could find to add the bonus. All the workers had become as corrupt as leeches, only doing their work, if there was some sort of compensation involved.

And the military was not better; dear god, not really a surprise the JDF and every son of bitch rebel out there has been giving hell to all of them, half of the forces are complete morons, and the other half were opportunist, that were only looking for an excuse to join the upper ranks and have a luxury life granted. The infantry was good, the armored vehicles were good too, but the Knightmare corps was a bunch of total fools; none of them were specially skilled, not really a surprise they had kicked some serious ass in the ambush to Jeremiah but it was going to change, as soon as Cornelia has stepped into the Area.

The door opened and a very gaunt and tired Jeremiah entered in the room, he was still wearing his suit/pilot suit, and the clothes were impeccable, but his shoulders were lumped and he has a haunted expression on his eyes. Jeremiah grunted in salute to Villetta who look as wasted as him; and walked to his chair, falling on it, and starting to massage the bridge of his nose, it has been a complete nightmare to actually salvage something from the disaster at the ghetto and the spectacular apparition of Zero. Soon, every cretin of a noble in Area Eleven was asking for the imprisonment of the terrorist. Despite having the said Terrorist as the top hit of the net videos for second consecutive day, not to mention the fortunes, the merchandise of the mysterious rebel was actually generating.

In his own mind, Jeremiah was laughing his ass off at the hypocrisy of all this, how the world seems to idolize Zero in private and denounce him in public, although, and considering that the business behind all the sells was under the hands of his Lord, the money they were generating was more than enough to finance two rebellions. Jeremiah has been tasked with the burden of torching down all the corrupt structure of government and military, so he could start building his own infrastructures and do not call the attention of any pencil pusher in the government. Thanks to the divine; literally; skills of his Lord in computers, Lelouch posses now one of the biggest fortunes in the world, and trying to trace the money back to him or any of his associates, would be a titanic task, even for the best breakers of the world.

As the time rehearsed himself, Cornelia and Euphemia were in the Area Eleven, Lelouch wanted to rejoin with her sisters, but there was a lot of things to do before, he could declare war to Brittannia, and end the chaos and destruction, that Charles Li Brittannia and Marianne Li Brittannia wanted to unleash. Jeremiah will never presume of know what the hell is running through the head of his Lord, he didn't before, and now that his brain was the brain of a Campione, it was even more difficult, however, he had to admit Lelouch was much better now, than he was in the past, when he had to act as Demon Emperor and enact the Zero Requiem. With a saunter look to the wall clock, Jeremiah started to work on the paperwork in front of him, only a couple of hours more of this damnable torment and he could be back with Sayoko and his Lord and Lady.

Soon; Saitama ghetto to be precise, all will change.

After that, it will be a complete new set of cards in the table, and Jeremiah had to set the pieces in motion for what is about to come; one of those pieces, was none other than the woman with an exhausted expression, resting her head against the hard surface of her desk. He knew it has been as much as torture for her, as it has been for him; Villetta was a woman of action, and being chained to a desk has been too much for her, her expression was a soulless one. With humor; although he did take good care of not expression it at all; he chuckled in silence at the expense of the woman. They have been comrades for a long time, and Jeremiah has learned to appreciate the capabilities of the woman, who was still headset in her baroness title, gaining a barony for her and whatever descendants she could have after that.

It was still too soon for her to awoken, in fact, so far only four persons has been awoken, and two of them has been almost by accident. Sayoko, C.C, Kallen and him; a little inner Circle that Lelouch will expand, as the time is right, he wanted to earn their loyalties the right way and do not by forcing them to experiment the horror he faced in the torture dimension. Jeremiah own experience went only for twenty years, as he and Sayoko died in each other arms, cleaving a path in the files of OSI black ops of Schneizel, so Nunnaly and Cornelia could scape with the children of the latter. After that it was only a side glance of the horrors of Prince Schneizel slavery Empire and the suffering his Lord has to endure at the hands of the gods that he saved once, saving all humanity in the process.

It has been tremendously infuriating, to put it mildly.

If his calculations were correct, Princess Cornelia and Euphemia will arrive at some point to the Palace very soon, now that they have ended the deployment of Cornelia troops and the paperwork was waiting for them to be cleared, the two Princesses will be taking residence in the Viceroy Palace. He was waiting to see what kind of face would they do when they saw, how much of a copy was the upper parts of the Palace, a place, turn into an almost carbon copy of the place that holds some of his best and worst memories. Clovis was a good kid that days, Marianne spoiled all the children in the Villa but at the same time, she made a good job on raising them, although, all of it went directly to hell, when she died at the hands of V.V, jealous of what the woman was doing with the mindset of Charles Li Brittannia.

Pandora protect them, Lelouch family were a bunch of wackos, and now that he was a Campione, it was not much better, Pandora and Magnus had his eternal gratitude but at the same time, Jeremiah was scared shitless of the power and mindset of the two deities. They play a game totally out of his league, a game that Lelouch was determined to win, as payment for the blessing Pandora has give him.

"I hate you" grumbled Villetta leaving another pile of finished fill-ins to be send to all departments of the Palace, and the rest of the government; little she knew that all of those forms were incredible redundant, but served as a very painful way to keep her under Jeremiah watch and protected from the purge of the Pure bloods.

"I know, but Its necessary" chuckled humorless Jeremiah, scribing in his own paperwork, among all those papers, he took special care, to hide the papers that would help his Lords plans.

Like supplies for the Black Knights, eliminating corrupted bureaucrats, cleansing the higher ups and in general making incredible smooth the transition of the power of the Viceroy to Cornelia and Euphy. It has been an absolute logistic nightmare, and only returning to Sayoko every night, made him endure the horrors of the office work, although, he has left a lot of paperwork still pending, so when they sisters arrive, they could share his suffering.

"This is fucking nuts!" screamed Villetta at the top of her lungs, pointing at the piles of pages and pages of fill-ins, reports, permissions and in general all kind of paperwork " I am a soldier for fuck sakes, not a bureaucrat!"

"I know" simply shrugged Jeremiah, letting the woman blow some steam, it will be good for the incoming reunion, she was going to discover some very buried secrets of Brittannia in that reunion and the sisters were in for a bittersweet surprise.

And as if he has just summon him, Gilbert G.P Guilford entered on the office, the bespectacled man was one of the most loyal and capable knights of Cornelia, whose skills were topnotch, some even said, he was Knight of the Round material, but he will never abandon his princess. Jeremiah could respect that devotion.

"Margrave Gottwald, Dame Nu" saluted the man to both of them " Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia wanted to see you on the Private rooms of the palace".

Jeremiah grunted and guard his pen into the drawer of the desk, Villetta did even seem relieved to be out of the torture that was the paperwork; soon all three of them walked into the busy halls of the Palace. Villetta has barely exited the office, from her apartment to the desk, so she has not seen how really a horns nest has the palace became with the arrival of the Second and Third Princesses of the Empire, the activity was overwhelming, the Palace has never been this efficient in years.

It does seems that the fear of being executed by Cornelia, if they even dared to appear lazy was a powerful motivator; without even a second glance, the trio reached the doors of the private elevator into the personal quarters of the Viceroy and after a few seconds, the doors opened to reveal them, a bucolic image. Jeremiah eyes flashed in pain for the image in front of them, all the private quarters was a perfect replica; to the tiniest detail; of how Aries Villa was before the assassination of Marianne, now that he know the deeps of the madness of the woman whom once had his eternal loyalty, Jeremiah was no longer held her in the same regard, but he does cherished all he good times he pass in the Villa. Villetta blinked a pair of times, not very sure where the hell she was, after all the Palace was in an urbane environment, and Aries Villa was a rural mansion, in the middle of one of the most beautiful and rural parts of Pendragon.

She had to admit that the place was amazing, but they were there for business and soon they left the elevator and moved into the road that marked the way into the Villa domains, even the road was recreated with real stone, she could tell that the air was pure and carried the smell of threes and lush grass. Both Princesses, were waiting in one of the covered spots that had an overview over the entire garden, it was one perfect spot for a relaxing afternoon tea, it was a pity that the situation didn't call for cordiality, but for business.

Cornelia and Euphemia were similar and at the same time, complete different women, both astonishingly beautiful, and sharing some common features, but that were all similitude end.

One was the Goddess of Victory of Brittannia; a title that Jeremiah would love to know what Pandora would think about; and the other was the loved and sweet Third Princess, that has more than once spoke in behalf of the more disfavored by the Social Darwinism of Brittannia.

The youngest one was serving some tea, waiting patiently for the arrival of the two person, her sister wanted to spoke about, despite being present in the funeral of Clovis, back in Pendragon, both of them seem incredible composed. However, Jeremiah knew better; he remembered when Lelouch told him about how the murder of Clovis has affected the woman and how he would have loved to tell them the truth. This time, things are going to be different, and Jeremiah will play his role, to the letter, after all, what make Lelouch happy, made Sayoko happy, and what made Sayoko happy, make him fucking exultant.

"Hello Margrave, Dame Villetta" smiled Euphemia to both of them " its been a while, Jerry".

Villetta raised and eyebrow, Jerry?, oh that was rich, she was going to enjoy that nickname a lot, she need some way to get some payback from the paperwork torture Jeremiah has put her into, and this nickname was a godsend.

"Ah, so do you remember that?" chuckled Jeremiah " it is has been a while, indeed, Princess" answered the man with a deep bow, as it correspond to the Royalty.

"Gillford, Villetta" called Cornelia eying his knight and the dark skinned woman " please leave us; Jeremiah is an old friend of mine and I would like to have a chat with him".

Gilbert tensed but he swallowed any reply and obeyed, leaving the Princesses with the Margrave and leading Villetta into the shadows of the nearby fake forest. The trees were real, but they were placed on a seven story tall building, inside of the private quarters of a Viceroy.

Cornelia put his cup on the plate and eyed Jeremiah, Euphemia was comfortably smiling at the man, after all, the old guard has been always good with her, protecting her from that bitch of Guinevere or Corine, and always playing with her when Cornelia wasn't around.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect anything like this from you Gottwald" said Cornelia, cold and straight to the business, ignoring the glare, Euphemia has been sent to her " when I hear about the death of Clovis, I didn't expect to found how did he die, by the mouth of a terrorist showman who has left all Brittannia military in the ridicule, in front of all the world".

"Sister" said Euphemia.

"I'm afraid, she is right, your highness" smiled Jeremiah to Euphemia with a haunted and sorrow filled smile " however, I had to admit, the betrayal of one of my closest friends and the discovery of how has he hide the truth from me and how has he almost sacrifice all of us for his ambitions, was something that I couldn't have never predicted".

"Then why the hell, did you let him continue with that charade?" asked Cornelia, as always straight to the point, she was already more than feed up with the bureaucrats of the Area Eleven, and she hadn't even been a day in the place.

"Eight years of immaculate service, pure noble Brittannian blood, future clan head of the Soressi Family, brother of Marika Soressi" numerated Jeremiah " we had fought together during the invasion, we had been fighting together for years; I trusted him with my life, your highness, It seems I was sorely mistaken".

"Did you ever read that joke of an accusation he fabricated?" continued Cornelia, it was not she was rash, it was that she felt insulted, how the hell pretended Kewell make it pass in front of her or for fucks sake, Schneizel?. "Any forensics or OSI expert would recognize that autopsy as a damn forgery in a second, not to mention, how the proofs are full of holes".

"I did read it" admitted Jeremiah " and more or less, that´s what I explained to Kewell, I advise him about was going to happen, if he continued on that path; but the defeat at the Shinjuku Ghetto seems to have affected him far more than I expected, I...don't know what to say, your highness, I trusted my friend and fellow knight and then all of this happen".

"Sorry, Jerry" comforted Euphemia, and Jeremiah smiled sadly to the young and kind princess, she was so similar to Nunnaly.

"Thanks for your kindness" replied Jeremiah, still standing in attention.

"Still" sighed Cornelia " you have been doing a great work as Viceroy, even in two days, you have put all the Palace in order; I have already more than enough of the "officers" of Clovis government; they are the worst bunch of shoelickers and buffoons, that I have ever saw outside of Pendragon".

"Curious, Villetta said the same thing" smirked softly Jeremiah "and I have been swamped for forty hours in the worst torture know to mankind, so I tend to agree with your judgment".

"Paperwork, your highness" explained Jeremiah to the confused Euphemia " the position of Temporary Viceroy carries a lot of paperwork, but I am afraid that soon you will discover it, after all, both of you will have to fill in your own share, there is a limit about what a Temporary Viceroy can do, and there is a lot of documents that only a real Viceroy could sign".

Jeremiah would lie, if he said that he hadn't enjoy the flinch in Cornelia and the soft paling of Euphemia at the prospect, specially considering that Euphemia has already been seen with Suzaku, and how she was looking for any chances to slip past her sister overprotective gaze and join Suzaku at the _Lancelot _bay. Speaking of which, Lelouch has already calculated that in a few days, Suzaku will make his appearance in Ashford Academy, that will be another moment, on where the history will make a turn point, Jeremiah has advised against it but his Lord was adamant on the matter. He could understand how sick of lies Lelouch was and how this time, preferred to play a different route, one that didn't end in Zero Requiem, Jeremiah would be grateful for that; even if it was the desire of his Lord, assisting in his suicide was one of the worst pills to swallow during his past life. If he didn't have experiment that again, all for the better.

Cornelia recovered and continued with the talk, there was a lot of things that she need to know, and despite all that has happened in the Area Eleven and the hidden investigation she has done before and after arriving to the Area, there was things she will ask to the man directly; if Jeremiah was the man she remembered, he will never dared to lie to her.

"Is there any truth about what Zero claimed?" her tone was neuter, but her grasp on the cup was stronger than it should, not to mention Euphemia stiffened in the bench of the tea spot.

Jeremiah stiffened too, adding an extra layer of credibility to his claims, but in reality, he stiffened because, this was the turning point, from now on, the future will inevitably change, as both sisters would do things differently. There will be some events, that will play in a very similar manner but on the biggest scheme, the history will change, Pandora let it be for the better.

"Yes" simply stated Jeremiah, in an equally neuter tone.

"Lies!" snapped Cornelia.

"Cornelia!" shouted Euphemia, as hurt as her sister but, she needed to knew the truth.

Cornelia breath a pair of times, to reign her ire, it was not uncommon how volcanic her temper could be, specially when someone was foolish enough to call her anger, after all, it was not the first time, she shot someone with her pistol cane.

"Please, Jerry, please told me that Clovis did not do those horrible things" begged Euphemia, and Jeremiah would have love to say what she wished but it was a harsh and unavoidable truth.

"I am sorry, your highness, but Prince Clovis darkest side, was a surprise for all of us" shook his head Jeremiah " however, there is something that Zero did not reveal, the only secret left in the Palace".

"What more can he hide?" Cornelia didn't want to believe it, but it was in front of her; the proof of how really corrupted Clovis, was, she has read the dossiers, see the proofs, and her own agents has confirmed the truth; still, she didn't want to believe, her brother, the kind and funny child she remembered from Aries Villa, was a complete monster.

"Project Orange, along Code R, was the two biggest secrets of Clovis" started Jeremiah, and the way he was speaking made both sisters listen to him "Code R, is already on the open, the human experimentation, the suffering he caused, it is overwhelming, but Project Orange was nothing of the sort".

"What do you mean?" ask Euphemia.

"Project Orange, the few scraps and bits that I had managed to recover" explained Jeremiah " was a secret operation, made by Clovis to locate Lelouch and Nunnaly Vi Brittannia".

The bomb was in the open, his Lord has give him instructions and he was following them to the letter, but at the same time, he feared the reaction of both women.

Cornelia snarled like a beast, but Euphemia paled, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"They are alive?" whispered Euphemia " Oh, gods they are alive?".

"Jeremiah" there was ice on the voice of Cornelia and Jeremiah tensed, he recognized that tone of voice, the same tone she used when he was about to tear a new one to the poor fool that has enraged her " this is the worst joke you could have muster".

"This is no joke, your highness" replied Jeremiah with steel in his voice.

Something that surprise Cornelia a little, after the death of Marianne, the man seems to lost his edge, his fire, and the lost of the Vi Brittannia siblings has buried a deeper hole for him; she was the protector of Lady Marianne, and she could see the old Jeremiah back in this one; another proof that perhaps the Project Orange was more than a foolish hope.

"I retrieved a solid proof" said Jeremiah, slowly and openly raising his hand to the pocket in his jacket.

Gillford tensed behind all them, along Villetta; that was as numb as the Princesses; _what the fuck was going here?_, was the thought that run through her mind. The Imperial siblings alive in Area Eleven?, the children of Marianne the Flash?, oh, that could be like a nuclear bomb for Pendragon and Area Eleven.

Slowly, Jeremiah took out a ragged photo, one of the proofs that Lord Lelouch entrusted him to deliver to the sisters, as proof that he was telling the truth, and to started to warm them about his existence, the Geass, the real face of Brittannia and a dozen more things. He put the photo on the table, so both could see the image; at the beginning none of them seems to notice anything, but soon Cornelia paled, clenched her teeth in fury and a glint of hope appeared in her eyes. Jeremiah pointed out for Euphemia, to a corner of the photo, before the pink haired princess noticed what has provoked that reaction in Cornelia.

At first sight, it was one of those thousands of similar photos, images of the first days of the invasion, where thousands of refugees where moving in long queues, roughly manhandled by conquering Britannian soldiers. But among the line of refugees, a child stand among them; with his semblance twisted in fury and hate for the Brittannian soldiers, and carrying a weak and frail girl on his back, the violet eyes of the raven haired boy were the live image of pain, hate and anger. It was Lelouch, no doubts about that, a pained, beaten and bruised Lelouch, carrying his own sister on his back, being treated like a trash by the same soldiers that should have rescued him and protected him.

Euphemia was openly crying, but Cornelia was gripping her cane to the point that the surface, cracked by the pressure.

"This photo is dated on the one of September of the year 2010" continued Jeremiah " I made sure that is not a forgery, not a fake, this is solid proof that Lelouch and Nunnaly Vi Brittannia survived to the bombardment of Kururugi Shrine".

"But...then, why did they do not identify himself?" asked Euphy, always the optimistic and sweet girl " they would have been protected by all the forces, Cornelia was there, you were there, you look for him, all the forces had the order to search for them, so why?, why hid like these?. And why did those soldiers treat everyone like this?".

"_Pandora protect her"_ thought Jeremiah, he was a knight, his oath demands to protect the innocence, if only...

However, it was Cornelia the one that beat him to a punch in her response.

"The eyes" was all she said between her clenched teeth.

She was fuming in rage and at the same time, she was shocked to the core; she was there during the invasion, along Jeremiah, they did look for them, Jeremiah risked a martial court and destroyed a frame to get to the temple, only to found it completely destroyed.

Euphemia blinked, cleared her eyes and look to the picture, it was not much later when her eyes widened and understood what Cornelia was trying to say. There was hate in those eyes, he was not looking at the elevens, he was looking at the soldiers, and the rage and hate in those eyes was directed at the same men that should have been protecting them, from all harm. That was a little too much for her, she closed her eyes and hug herself, she loved both siblings dearly and to see them like that was a hard thing for her.

"Jeremiah" said Cornelia " this only proves that they did survive, not what they have been doing for eight years".

"_Or if they had even survive__d__ for so long"_ ended Euphemia in her mind.

"That was, what Orange was for" said Jeremiah " but I am unable to access to the data, only the Viceroy could" sighed the man " I am only a temporary replacement, not the real Viceroy, Princess Cornelia, the keys and codes you had received, are the core commands for the system, only you could unlock the security of the files of Project Orange and see the truth".

Cornelia blinked and narrowing her eyes, he stood up suddenly.

"Come, all of you!" commanded the darker pink haired woman with a tone that leaves no place for discussion " there is a core terminal in the office of Clovis, I will find the truth behind all this right now!" declared and all of them, hurried to get behind the storming Princess.

Jeremiah has to admit, this was going greater than he thought, in fact, in his worst simulations, he would have a bullet in the head by now, but it does seems that Lelouch was one step ahead. Not to mention, that he was sure, that the said violet eyed Campione was watching all this scene through the cameras, right this moment.


	4. Chapter 3

Ashford Academy/Halls of the Student building.

Yes and no.

Lelouch; or at last part of his mind, multitasking was becoming a necessity very quickly; was indeed controlling the events taking place in the replica of the Aries Villa with mixed emotions about the people and the place. He would love to visit it at some point and; at the same time; he wanted to torch the entire place down. It was the place where the madness of his parents and that little yandere little shit of an uncle went directly AWOL.

But back to the main topic, a piece of Lelouch mind, was indeed, controlling all the reunion, and checking in for his dear sisters, they were as lovely as he thought they were, and what was more important, Euphy was alive and Cornelia was not the devastated and betrayed woman she was, the last time he saw her. On the other hand, he has to admit that most of his attention was on the sweet and hot lips of Kallen, as both shared a very hot and large making out session before the classes could begin. After they had discovered how much of an idiot both had been in the past, they were making out for the time lost; and the lust of a Campione was only more wood to the fire. His green haired witch was determined to fuck him dry every night, and despite her healing powers and her immense knowledge and experience on the amatory arts, she was not superhuman, neither had enhanced stamina, but the intention was more than welcome for Lelouch, who did his best to satisfy the insatiable witch.

A very interesting thought cross his mind.

What if he managed to get the fire of Kallen and the debauchery of C.C in the same bed?; that could lead to the best night of his life, although, he was sure that Kallen would die of embarrassment and beat him for an inch of his life, if he even dared to propose that to her. She was a little prude in some matters; and now that he thought about it, he was a cretin in the past, ignoring the beautiful women around him. Well, C.C has show him how wonderful could it be, to get laid with a person you love; and this time, Lelouch was determined to do it, as much as he can.

And that line of thought was a little disturbing, when did him became such a horny bastard?, it seems that the rumours were correct, once you had taste what sex is like, you will crave for the sensation, specially if you are nothing but a teenager with a lot of hormones raging through your body. Unfortunately, he was a damn Campione too, and quelling his appetites could be a little more demanding than he thought. Kallen and him parted lips; mostly because she actually needed to breath; her face had an atomic blush, and her breath was ragged and hot.

They had not still reached the home run; mostly because Lelouch wanted to make it work at Kallens pace, and do not forcing her to do nothing; but they make out at each chance they had. Lelouch inner clock told him that he had an appointment with Ruben Ashford in five minutes, and it was an important appointment, it would be determinative for the future of his Black Knights and the army he would build when he declared war to Brittannia.

"Kallen" said Lelouch, not really wanting to let his wonderful queen go "I have a meeting with the Principal in five minutes, I'm sorry, I would love to kiss you forever but...".

"Idiot" punched her, his chest without no real strength, embarrassed for how lewd they had been kissing for the last quarter of an hour; if Milly ever get an ear of this, she would die of embarrassment.

Lelouch kiss her lips softly for the last time and whispered "I love you" to her, before walking into the halls that lead to the Principal office.

Kallen waved him back and run to join the rest of the student council, the classes of the afternoon are going to start soon and she had to attend some of them at last, her credit were not good enough to graduate yet; despite being a very clever girl, her facade of a sick child prevent her to attend all the classes she need to graduate. Lelouch on the other hand, has his expedient more than covered, for what he knows, his credentials where more than enough, to grant him a place, in any university, or whatever the hell he wanted to attend as a professional career.

Pity, he pretended to be Zero for full-time at soon as once the cat was out of the bag, and he could start the revolution he need to create the kind world of Nunnaly.

Speaking about her, a quick check into the systems of the Academy and he could see her through the cameras of the buildings, she was safe and happily attending her classes, and that was a good thing.

He still was torn between awoken her or not, she didn't deserve the pain and suffering, the longer he could keep her safe and happy, the better. What good could did to her, the knowledge of the horror she had suffered?, the memories of her brother being an arrogant asshole that had the world on the knees; and only through his own assassination and leaving her alone, could he create the world she wanted?.

Like a mace, the words of his Campione brother Magnus, ringed in his head.

"_Do they look remotely happy, lad?"._

Lelouch cursed in his mind, Magnus was right, and he hated him for that, it was horrible when someone slapped him with his own mistakes and made him admit then for what they are, the colossal screw up he did in the past. Shacking his head of those thoughts, he turned his attention to more pressing matters.

He had already located all the Six houses of Kyoto heads; even little, cute and energetic Kaguya; and soon, they will provide him all the support they could need. In fact, he prefered not to wait to Lake Kawaguchi to call the attention of the Six Houses.

The Black Knights will make their debut in that place, but the Houses of Kyoto would will be already under his command, or he will tear them a new one. Lelouch calmed himself, so much for not letting his hate and anger take command of the best of him; and now there he was, ready to commit a mass murder, just to get the houses under his absolute control. [Black King] was a dangerous _Authority_ indeed, it gives him the need to control everything, it transformed him into a control freak like no other, but Lelouch could recognize that he was one of those in the past, the worst of those, and this time around, he will not commit the same mistakes. With a smile, he noticed that he has received a mail from Rakshata, the woman seems to have accepted his challenge, and she will personally travel to Area Eleven to see the miracle he claimed he could produce, and to get the second part of the fascinating new tech package, he has delivered to them.

It fact, it was just an alteration from the _Blaze Luminous_ system Loyd created and installed in his _Lancelot_, modified to be put into Knightframe close combat weapons; different form of MVS, in the sense that the weapons could feed directly on the Yggdrasil Drive of the frames, making any weapon to last as long as the energy battery of the Frame.

It was nothing but an idea he had, but it was more than enough to pick up the interest of the Indian scientist, who couldn't resist the bet of Lelouch, when he dared to challenge her into travel Area Eleven, and see for herself a miracle in knightmare engineering; a miracle she would never be able to duplicate or surpass. That has been a cheap shot for her pride, but Lelouch wanted his clever and eccentric genius with him, as fast as he could, so he could protect her much better than the Indian government, not to mention he had a thousand different ideas about new Frames and wanted a real, solid expert to contrast his ramblings; simulations could only lead you so far.

With that, he will have another of the core members of the Black Knights back to him, allowing him to start his real plans sooner than he expected. He was going to brutalize the old time line after Saitama, in fact the pieces of that domino has already started to fall, when he check that his sisters has already found and read the contents of Project Orange.

They had something they didn't have before, they had hope and what´s best, they started to had some doubts about their own country, and what really Brittannia wanted with this world conquering campaigns, that Charles has declared. But, back in the Ashford Academy; and as he was moving some funds for a dozen of side projects and realizing a dozen different task in the net, simultaneously; Lelouch softly knock on the door of Ruben Ashford.

"Come in" came the voice of the old man.

" Hello Ruben, can I have a moment of your time?" saluted Leouch to the old man, he has been nothing but good to him and Nunnaly-

The Ashford where the ones that helped Marianne to reach the heights she reached, but when she died, the Ashford fall with her.

Now that he thought about it, he has never done anything to help them, to really pay them for all he good they had done for him and his sister, instead, he put Milly and Ruben in danger, and used the Academy for his own convenience during the time he recovered his memories and had Villetta blackmailed and Rollo completely fooled. The list of his misdoings just grow bigger and bigger, and each time he reminiscence a little, he just add more and more sins to the pile, up to a point on where it was starting to became ridiculous; much to his shame, he discovered, that each time he threw his mind back, he only discovered pain and suffering in his name.

Ruben was a very strong man, despite being past his sixties, the short but wide man was an imposing image; his hair has already white due old age, but there was no signs of lose of hair and he had a beard, that made him appear like a body builder Santa Claus in a tuxedo.

"Hello Lelouch, my boy, what can I do for you?" smiled the old man to Lelouch, but suddenly frowned and look at him " wait, shouldn't you be in class now?".

"Yes, I should be, but I need to spoke with you, about a couple of things" shrugged Lelouch, the old man sighed.

"I swear, you are incorrigible" said the man, leaning on his chair " so, what bothers you, Lelouch?, what´s so important that you ditched classes, again" stressed out the last word and Lelouch just smile widely.

It was fun to run from the teachers, he was more than qualifies for any work he would like to do, and now that he was a Campione, the things will only get even more interesting, but business before pleasure.

"I am afraid, I´m here for business" said Lelouch with a sad smile, sitting on a chair in front of the old man, and instantaneously Ruben noticed that this was not the slender and fragile Lelouch he has meet yesterday.

This man had confidence in spades, and just being in his presence, one could only though about the Emperor, speaking of witch, he was going to emit a speech soon, not much after the death of his own son, Clovis Vi Brittannia.

"Who are you and what have you done with Lelouch?" ask Ruben, looking intensely at the man sat in front of him.

"I am Lelouch" chuckled the boy "come on Ruben, I know I was not precisely an example of a healthy life but I wasn't that bad, wasn't I?" ask Lelouch, that was starting to realize, that perhaps his new body was as different as the previous, as the night and day.

"Boy, you couldn't end three laps in the athletics tracks by your dear life" stated Ruben, raising an eyebrow, he knew perfectly well how abyssal the athletics skills of Lelouch were " and now you have grown a couple of inches overnight and you look like you could run a decathlon without breaking a sweat".

"Pandora protect me, I was that bad" muttered Lelouch, under his breath.

"Sorry, Ruben, lets say, I have and epiphany about my horrendous physical skills, and I have been training myself in secret" suggested Lelouch and Ruben just let it go, if the boy wanted to play it off the record, so be it.

However, he took mental note of asking Milly about Lelouch, new found interest in physical exercise, Ruben money was on a woman; it was the most common thing for so drastic changes, and he has to admit that he was a bit intrigued about what kind of woman could have broke the ice walls of the heart of Lelouch.

"Anyhow, what is so important Lelouch?" ask Ruben, a little curious about what would want the boy; he was one of the brightest lads he has ever meet, and when the boy spoke it was actually something interesting to listen.

A lot of very profitable investments has come his way, because he listened to the advises of the boy and his keen and ruthless nature, when he was in business mode; if the boy ever develop and interest in the Corporation world, god protect them, he will take the business world like a storm.

"It is about the facilities that lies under the Academy, more specifically, the structures under this mansion" started Lelouch, making Ruben flinched a little, those bring bad memories to the man, and Lelouch hated himself for this, but he needed it.

"How did you know of that?" ask Ruben, sighing, he liked the boy, but what he was talking about was something that he prefer to keep buried.

"I..." Lelouch fidgeted a little, and Ruben raised an eyebrow, it looks like the boy that has being caught with the hand in the cookie jar.

"I hack into the Academy mainframe" said Lelouch and Ruben eyes widened "I have full access, to all cameras, databases, terminal or computer in the school, that included the powerful node that once held a Knightframe developing facility".

"Damn it, boy" grunted Ruben, and Lelouch did appear to regret it " that's part of the past, we lost that power, the day your mom died".

"I know" softly said Lelouch " but I need those facilities, Ruben".

"Why?" simply asked the old man, not really liking where all this was going.

The only reason a person like Lelouch would be interested in a factory of Knightframes, was because he will want to use it to build and army; and they were directly under his Academy.

Ruben has to think about the hundreds of students he had now in the Academy, he knew how cruel the world can be, and it was not impossible that Brittannian, China, EU ;or whoever the hell, has the finger on the trigger; would blow all the place to smithereens to get rid of a military target.

"I am going to build my own Company" answered Lelouch with a wide smile " and I would start by creating an entire new generation of Knigthmares, someone that could even beat the new _Lancelot_ of Earl Asplund and the Military Engineering Corps".

"_God have mercy on us..."_ thought the old Ashford massaging his forehead, his worst nightmare confirmed, Lelouch was going to enter in the world of higher finances, and he was going to be the worst shark in the sea; it ran on the family.

Marianne could appear to be all giggles and fun, but she was not Knight of Two because she was an airhead, neither how she managed to be the favourite of the Emperor, despite being of commoner blood.

"Ruben, please" called his attention Lelouch "I could deduce that you fear, that I would use the factory, to build myself an army, and to be honest with you, the thought has crossed my mind" nodded Lelouch and Ruben suddenly find himself looking for a drink.

"But your facility is not prepared for that; it is a facility for testing and development; it could build and hold a dozen frames at max, hardly an army" shrugged Lelouch " on the other hand, the place had all the facilities a scientist could ever dream about, perfect for investigation and development; not to mention, there is an Academy just over it, that taught some of the greatest minds of Brittannia, I know, I am one of the few friends Nina Einstein had, and I know, how really amazing her investigation is".

"And that's, why I feared this day" shook his head Ruben, collapsing in his chair "you had the mind of a CEO, Lelouch".

"I take it as a compliment" smiled the teen " but I am not simply asking for its usage, I know that those facilities has been abandoned for years, and it will require a lot of work and personnel to put them back in shape".

"I see, you have give it a thought" comment Ruben " but, Lelouch, it has been eight years, you will need an immense fortune just to actualize the hardware and the software".

"Done" simply said Lelouch and offered a surprised Ruben, a little tablet from inside his pocket, it was one of those pocket computers that lots of CEOs carried around, to always be informed of the situation of his business.

When Ruben saw the numbers on the screen, his jaw almost hit the surface of his wooden desk; the numbers Lelouch had presented to him were out of this world.

"How on earth did you manage to put your hands in this fucking fortune?!" shouted Ruben.

"The truth or the plausible excuse?" replied back Lelouch.

"The truth, Lelouch, please, the truth, these numbers are impossible, unless you had managed to hack into the national bank of Pendragon and ..." the silent of Lelouch made him pause "please tell me you didn't do it".

Lelouch laughed, that´s why he liked the man a lot, he had his feet on the ground, and knows when to joke and when was the time to be serious.

"I am not only financing all my little escapades trough gambling" explained the teenager, and Ruben feared for the world; how right the old man was, he couldn't know at the moment " I made investments, I offer advise from some corps, I have some patents at my name, I have been eight years carefully and discretely amassing a fortune, Ruben".

"I still can't see how" said the man, looking at the numbers on the screen, he pass some pages of the document, seeing where and when has Lelouch earn the fortune in front of him, and after some of the longest minutes of his life, Ruben sighed.

"Say, Lelouch, you wouldn't be interested in being the Ashford account manager would ya?" almost pleaded the man, and Lelouch laughed.

"Dear lord, now I can see why Milly will never let you go off the Student council, and how despite all her madness, the budget is always perfect" commented Ruben "but still, I need the truth about what you are going to do with the facilities Lelouch, please".

"Ruben, you are still a Frame engineer right?" ask Lelouch back, surprising the old man a little.

"Well, yes, I am" snorted the old man.

"Then switch on your computer and access to the following archives" pointed Lelouch to the computer on the wooden desk.

Guided by the curiosity, Ruben did exactly that and typed his personal password onto the node of the academy, granting him full access to any stored data on that inside network.

"Look out for the File Clarent001, inside the archives of the Student Council, in the carpet under my name in the same folder" said Lelouch and Ruben obeyed, he quickly found out the file, Lelouch was talking about and he proceeds to open the archive and run through its contents.

The stunned silence that follow, made Lelouch smirk and turn his attention to the other dozen of online movements that he need to do. After all, the delicious make out session with Kallen has come as consequence of how he has managed to get her and her mother, a very nice and comfortable apartment, near one of the rehabilitation clinics where they treat the victims of Refrain. He has made sure, that the place was not a scam, and even if they dare to pull that one on him, he will hunt them like dogs and made them pay for cause any harm to his Red Queen; her mother had suffered more than enough, and it was about time to something good to came her way.

Kallen, was part of the few persons that Lelouch ever loved, so her mother feel under the category of VIP for all the systems Lelouch controlled all over Tokyo and Area Eleven. And when he could finally nail that damn Chinese code, she will be a VIP in United China too; nothing was enough for those under Lelouch care; greedy yes, but for Lelouch it was a form of payment for the shit he has put all of them through, at the Black Rebellion.

Ruben sighed deeply, calling Lelouch attention back, the man seem to have aged a decade when he looked at him, and Lelouch scared a little, he wanted to impress the man, not give him a damn heart attack; and judging for his face, he was about too.

"This, this is brilliant" admitted the man " it is an interesting concept, but half of this, is still on the paper today, how come you actually come with practical solutions to it?" asked Ruben.

"You know, I am a clever boy" smiled Lelouch " but never know exactly how much clever I am, and until recent events, I was just fooling around, living the life of a normal boy, along Nunnaly".

"And why the sudden change?, and of course, why the hell Knightmare engineering?".

"I found a worthy cause, and because of that I discovered how really good I am at Knightmare engineering" shrugged Lelouch, answering truthfully to Ruben.

He didn't have much time in the past, to customize the BK knightmares as he would have love them to be; the Black Knights were almost in warfare state ninety percent of the time, and that doesn't allow them to make any research. Enough work Rakshata had to deal with the repairs of all the Frame mobile park of the Black Knights, not to mention, every time Lelouch try to scratch some time for anything not "work" related, he always ended neck deep into another problem. At some point it begun to be absurd, he could barely sleep three or four hours at day, and all of them in separate timetables, he was lucky if he could pick an entire hour nap, the cockpit of his stealthy submarine become his favourite nap place, as he could sleep in it, without interruptions; he barely remembered how was a bed.

"Lelouch, my boy" sighed Ruben " I am worried about you".

" And why is that?" raised an eyebrow Lelouch.

"I know you didn't appear it, but..." Ruben seems a little uncomfortable.

Ruben should not be the one having this conversation; this conversation should have been done by any adults around Lelouch, from his real family, but Ruben knew that bunch of wackos were out of the question. So, the responsibility of putting some common sense in the brain of the genius teen in front of him, has fall over Ruben shoulders.

"You are full of anger, full of hate to Brittannia" finally said Ruben, a little surprised about how Lelouch seems to be taking the conversation so well " and now you want to build Knightmares?, I am an old man, boy, but I am not an idiot".

"Ruben" spoke Lelouch, he has to admit that he has underestimated the old man, respected?, yes, but underestimated him. Ruben has read him far better than he has suspected, and perhaps it was time for a change.

"You are more clever than the people gave you credit for; not a surprise considering how the family keep going, despite all the shit, the court put on you" nod Lelouch " I will be honest with you, I will use those same facilities to build and maintain Knightframes that I will use to bring my father down, he is an insane man, and believe me, this is not just the ramblings of an angst kid".

Lelouch lean on the chair, massaging the bridge of his nose, fucking Chinese server, come on, this was nuts, the security of the node under them was higher than the Chinese and it has been a walk on the park in comparison.

"As I gain that fortune, I stepped into secrets that my father wanted to be buried, secrets that finally lead to the death of my mother Marianne" announced Lelouch and he could see how Ruben flinched like he has been slapped.

The death of Marianne the Flash, was a nasty wound for everyone that did ever support her, her assassination at the hands of "terrorist" or whatever the hell, the official excuse was, lead to a witch hunt of any family that did ever support the commoner, that at one point became the favourite spouse of the Emperor. Even today, Lelouch know how the Ashford were trying to win a place back into the court, by marrying Milly with Earl Loyd. Bad choice, in Lelouch opinion but he will meddle into that business on another moment.

"That new information, Pandora have mercy on us, it shocked me to the core" sighed Lelouch and Ruben noticed how he has sworn in Pandoras name, could it be the girl that has broke the ice walls of the lad?, if that so, Ruben thought it was a very amusing quirk.

"I will quash my father, and I will crush that hopeless and corrupt nightmare that Britannia has become" announced Lelouch and a sliver of his power slip from his words, making Ruben shudder and suddenly felt like he has steeped a landmine.

"Lelouch" said Ruben, really wanting to be anywhere but where he was "I really will want to help, but this is a school, please don't bring the horrors of war over the students".

"War?" raised and eyebrow Lelouch " Ruben, I want to build a company, not an army, but if that eases your fears, I will assure you that I will not use the factory to build an army, I would only build one or two prototypes and the rest will be used for investigation, after all, I had a dozen different theories I want to test".

"It is a very dark path Lelouch" Ruben was a little more at peace, knowing that the boy will not transform the school into a military base, anyhow, this new Lelouch scared the shit out of him, he was dangerous.

"I know Ruben, believe me, I know very well" nod Lelouch " but it is the only path available for me".

"Take care, my boy" sighed Ruben, soon he will have to prepare the documents, to grant the boy, the ownership of the old lab, in deep part of his mind, he was eager to see what does the lad had in store.

Clarent001 has been quite the surprise for the old man, and he was eager to see how does that develop; if the theories of Lelouch were right, they were in for a massive surprise.

"Thank you, Ruben, I promise I will not disappoint you".

And it was the total true, after all, he pretended to use part of what he was going to develop in the place, as offering to the Ashford, so they could buy his place into the nobility, leaving Milly alone.

Or that was plan M of the possible outcomes to pay back the Ashfords, for all the support they had done on him over all the years.

He had so many things to do, and so little time for them.

Saitama Ghetto/Open plaza

Lelouch has to admit that the plan of Cornelia was solid, she was going to replay the conditions of the Shinjuku ghetto and get his ass in a silver platter. Pity he knew the script beforehand, and simply bulldozed his way through the history, and in this case, he has to admit he has done it with style. The time changes had starting to became bigger and bigger, specially after yesterday where he confirmed with her wonderful witch, how his mom was still looking out for them, in her strange and totally crazy way.

Both Charles and Marianne were a little confused about what has happened with Clovis, and she has just contact with C.C to see if the plan was still going well; C.C just told her that the plan was going very well. Of course, she was referring to Lelouch plans, not Charles and Marianne plans, but they didn't specify when they asked the question. It was quite the nobility for Lelouch, for the first time in his entire life, Lelouch plans were proceeding without a hitch; that was quite the first, considering how all his plans, always tends to only produce more and more pain.

The role of the villain, of the dark knight and the rebel that only bring destruction, seems to fit him astonishingly well, and he hated himself for that, more than ever; even the first time, he knew that he was going to bathe in blood. But one thing was to bathe in the blood of faceless, and another, to see the consequences of your acts, right in your face; the tears of Shirley, the death of Rolo, the tears of Kallen, the millions of deaths of Tokyo; all screamed in his mind each time he closed his eyes.

But not anymore.

With the truth, came closure and acceptance.

However, despite all his good intentions, Lelouch knew; and he knew it deep in his soul; that he will never be free from the blood of the innocents and the sinners alike. This time around, he pretend to kill only when is due, nothing more, nothing else. Killing is a sloppy work; Mordred has already acknowledged that, servitude was far better than death; a death enemies made poor servants, although, he admitted too, that a defeated enemy could seek vengeance in the worst possible moment.

Suzaku, was the prime example of that, so blind in their own plans, that neither of the teens, recognized the damage and pain they were causing each other, until it was far to late, to do anything about it.

Zero Requiem, his masterpiece and despite being a melody of death, it carries too, the beautiful sound of salvation and redemption.

Pity, how C world actually send it all to hell, transforming the dream, into a nightmare. In one of his moments of weakness; and he was having a lot of them lately; Lelouch has to admit that after what all C world has done, he was greatly tempted to told the C world to go to hell and let his crazy parents eradicate all of them. But Pandora has made it clear; if the C world falls, humanity falls, if the humanity die, the C world die; they are intervened now, thanks to the colossal stupidity of the precursors of the Order, that tied the gods of the Myth realm to the subconscious of humankind.

Now that he thought about it; Pandora was extremely pissed off with the C world, it does seems that whatever universe, she and Magnus were from, the things were quite different, from starters the amazing powers of the Campiones and how the magic was a common thing in that world.

Lelouch would have loved to be a magician, he has the brains for it, and the immense magical energies of the Campiones would have been great to actually channel even the greatest spells, he would have to ask Pandora and Magnus the next time he sees them about that matter.

Could he use magic in this scientific era?, that could be great, another tool for the toolbox; it was not if he was not already loaded with aces under his sleeve, but another one was never a bad thing; in fact, after Saitama, he suspected, everything was going to diverge from the events that took place in the first time line; perhaps Lake Kawaguchi, and most possible neither Narita would be affected, and will take place, but how the things are done and the consequences were completely different.

He was going to change the game, the spectacle in Kawaguchi Lake, was going to be another turning point, of course, but that was a matter for another moment, right now, he was going to confront his dear sister. Another colossal failure, Cornelia has always been good to him and Nunnaly, and how does he payed that same kindness?, almost breaking her in the worst way possible and made her suffering all he could, killing people she cared about, one, after another. However, this time, he was going to act differently, still he has to face his dear sister once more, during the battle for the Saitama ghetto.

Jeremiah, being the loyal knight he was, has already pointed out about his and Nunnaly survival, and all the data of Project Orange; despite being a complete hoax, that Lelouch has made to guide Cornelia and Euphemia into the direction he wanted; it does contains a lot of very uncomfortable truths inside of it.

The real reason, why he and his sister were sent to Japan, what does the Empire did with the Ashfords, his first weeks of survival; not really a pretty sight, believe him; and in general a lot of shadows that only stain the otherwise, immaculate image of the Empire in the eyes of the two Princesses. And speaking of that, he would have to deal with his other half siblings soon, just in case any of them did anything clever and open an entire new can of worms; in the previous time line, he had been very lucky that none of them, except that fucker of Schneizel, interfere with his plans.

The shadow chase, he has throw Cornelia and Euphemia, had given him the time, to solidify his grasp on this Area and the use of his powers as Campione; talk about divine rights; to win the control of almost any machine in the Area. God bless, the lax laws about the net, he was a Deux in the machina now; and was enjoying every single second of it, this was much better, than Geass people and turn them into mindless drones that will not adapt to the circumstances and could flap their gums to the wrong persons, at the worst moment.

Lelouch, completely dress in his Zero attire, contemplate the ruins surrounding him, he has already expanded his _Authority_, and make all inhabitants of the ghetto, get the hell out of here, before Cornelia unleashed hell over the place. He was going to prevent all the casualties he could, it was better that way, otherwise, the deaths will simply add up; up to a breaking point, like it happen the first time, killing Shirleys father, and the hundreds and hundreds of persons that live in Tokyo during the Black Rebellion, the battle for China or the Battle for FREYJA.

Lelouch has to admit that he did not really give much thought about the price of blood and how was he staining his soul in an ocean of the blood of his own victims, and what is worst, he did it with a smile. Perishing those thoughts, he focused back to the present, so far, all was going according to his plan, it was not really a surprise, how easily one can distract entire battalions; when you could hack into their comms and IFF, and send them chasing ghosts. Some of the most hardcore resistance groups, had preferred to stand and fight, despite the warnings he has give to them by radio, Zero didn't want to made an appearance in front of them, fearing that his control over his _Authority, _will slip a little and put all of them under his command.

He didn't want slaves, he preferred partners and allies, way more useful and loyal.

Suzaku sweated bullets in his presence, and he was a very skilled martial artist that had suffered his own share, during the Pacific wars, if his power slips again, in front a rag tag bunch of rebels, he feared that he will cause some serious trauma to all of them. Ironically, it only happens, when he is under his Zero attire, when he is playing Lelouch, all his powers seems to be in "civil" mode, and do not spread, expand or simply scare the shit outta every living being in a mile radius. He was right, when he supposed that Zero was more than a facade, in a sense, it was his deeper desires made form, his own idealization of how he should be and how he should act, against the world and whatever comes in his way. Smirking under his mask, he thought that he does seems like some kind of comic book character, hiding under a secret identity, fighting an evil empire and all that things.

This was the real world.

There is no villain, nor hero, just humans and their masks, human and their desires and of course, humans and their sins.

With a soft chuckle Lelouch thought about that last remark.

Sins, hell yes, hundreds of sins, for what he was starting to begin to pay, in his own twisted Campione way of thinking. Despite all his good intentions, Lelouch was a Campione, and his trail of thoughts is different, irrational, one could say, after all, he was a divine being of sorts, and none has even dared to call any gods, rational. He wanted the best for the world, he wanted to create the world Nunnaly would be proud of, but at the same time, he was going to create it, in his terms and conditions; he was a Campione, and by definition, the closest thing to a god, anyone could have ever met. That, if you are lucky; otherwise you will meet a [Herectic god], and few survive the experience with the sanity intact.

Lelouch was comfortably sat in a chair, in the middle of the broken place, one of the places that has not being reconstructed since the end of the war, and that show, in all cruelty, how ruthless could be an assault of Brittannian forces; specially since they included the Knightmare Frames into their war forces.

Knightmares.

War machines that could bring hell to any place on earth; the Empire propaganda has been raising the value of the machines to a godhood levels, making them appear like they could win entire wars on their own, and how they are the solution to any conflict. It was a blatant lie, well; it was, until Rakshata and Loyd started their pissing contest, and start developing more, and more extravagant systems, reaching the pinnacle of mass destruction in the Hadron cannons. Still, a gentle breeze considering what a FREYJA missile could do; Nina investigation was a blessing and devils work at the same time, Lelouch has already begun to influence the reclusive genius but it was a delicate work in progress.

In the most extreme of the cases, he will impose his will over Nina, and make her a loyal minion, thank to [Black King], but despite all what happened, he sensed that he owned the shy and traumatized girl some happiness. She was a very fragile mind; despite the fact that she was much more clever, than anyone could ever imagine. Only Milly knew the truth, but Nina was almost raped by a bunch of drunken "elevens" one time she passed nearby the ghettos.

That trauma is now deeply buried, but Lelouch knew that, that kind of traumas, are not easily dismissed, neither overcome, specially after what happened in Kawaguchi Lake and how badly she reacted to the death of Euphemia at the hands of Zero. Pandora protect him, he was in part responsible for the creation of FREYJA. Oh, joy, how long was the list going to be?, there must be some god among all the shit he has done, at some point he should have done something god, no?.

Shacking his head, Lelouch just feared that he had not.

Well, only Zero Requiem, and he saw how well that ended.

"_Pandora protect me, I am a complete fool!" _thought Lelouch.

Sitting more comfortably in the chair and picking up a phone from within his cape, start to dial some codes and instructions, if his calculations were correct; and with a quick glance into the traffic cameras outside the ghetto, he confirmed they were indeed, correct; the forces of Cornelia will reach the ghetto right now. His senses picked up the noise of Cornelias G-1, entering the borders of the ghetto.

"_I want one of those too"_ thought Lelouch, and made a mental note to build himself one, as soon as he could, _Gawain, _and _Shinkiro_, his two Frames in the past, were perfect for controlling the battlefield, but a G-1 mobile base, somehow gives credibility to an army. Not to mention, it could hold and maintain ten frames and carried a field hospital, something that the Black Knights could definitely benefit from when the push come to the shore, after all, they are going to face Brittannia. Until he could put his hands on the _Ikaruga;_ the sibling vessel of the _Avalon_; a full equipped G-1 will be sufficient.

In part, it was the fault of Mordred, as Campione, as the [Black King], he unconsciously looks for a worthy steed to carry him to the battlefield. The Frame he was secretly developing under the Ashford Academy was just a prototype for the future, he will build the perfect Frame for him.

He didn't know it, but it was the desire of the divine essence inside him, speaking to him, encouraging him to be bolder and decisive; for the moment, it has been more or less quiet, as the actions of the sly Campione satisfied him, but soon he will demand more and more, Mordred has not entirely accepted his Campione, has not entirely surrendered the full power of [Black King] to Lelouch. In part because the boy was not ready, and in part because he didn't consider him totally worthy, not yet, despite how much similar the boy and him were, the god had his pride, and will only relinquish control, when he judged Lelouch, should be ready. Of course, Lelouch had no idea of all this, very few Campione know of this imbalance, they discover it when they achieve full domain of their _Authorities_ or when they reach a high enough domain in the mystic arts to recognize the problem on their own magic energy. Without any formation in magical arts; as they was not any magicians out there, except the double letters; Lelouch has no way to detect this, and just assume that; like the Geass; the _Authorities_ did not come with a manual, and he will have to learn by trial an error, only the achievements and the failures would be of divine proportions.

The squads of scouts were deployed and he could hear the sounds of the VTOLS fly over the base and the army entering in the ghetto, accessing to the communications of the Army with a single though, Lelouch noticed how cautiously they were approaching the situation.

Unlike Clovis, Cornelia was a good strategist, but unfortunately for her, Lelouch has earned a very painful lesson from Schneizel, Charles, Marianne, and the C world. The real master strategist win the battle before it has even begun, beat your enemy before the battle has even begun. And that exactly what he has done, still not visible, and not only in this Saitama battle, a battle that was not going to occur, but to a dozen different events that will alter forever the shape of this time line. And he didn't care a shit about what the world wants, he was going to build a gentler world for Nunnaly and Euphemia; just be grateful he used the non-bloody path, instead of simple obliterate entire countries in his ire.

It has been a checkmate since the beginning, and they didn't even know it.

The best way of doing things, even if it cost him a head splitting migraine for an entire day.

As a mental note, he noted that he really should be more careful about intruding in protected systems, specially when he was projecting his own power into a sheltered node in the middle of Pendragon.

Pandora protect him, the backlash when the node failed, almost fried his brain, and if the node did not, the two angry women with him would have torn him apart for being an idiot.

Kallen and C.C seems to have got along well, somehow, specially when they double team him after one of his Campione styled mess ups.

He really didn't want to know how, the competition of both women was like contemplate two lionesses, leering over a fresh piece of meat, in this case, _He_ was the bloodied piece of meat. And Lelouch felt like an indecisive piece of shit, he couldn't say no to neither of them, it was just that he loved them too much to cause them any more harm, and he needed both, his Witch and his Red Queen at his side. Both woman were important for him the first time, and this time, he has already confessed to them how important they were for him. However, that opened an entire new can of worms, as he has deep feeling for both of them and he suspected for other important women on his life.

Campiones, never had it easy, in fact it was a freaking nightmare, between setting the board, playing the game of thrones and juggling his powers as Campione, this was starting to get ridiculous. And, being completely honest with himself, he loved every second of it. The power was like a drug, but he was using all his willpower to keep it under control and do not to use it on people, instead he focused his powers over machines.

Controlling the machines and doing the things the hard way, he could prevent himself from simply enslave all Area under his _Authority_ and transform every single citizen in his own, fanatical to death, army of loyal mind-thralled slaves, that will hail his name, as they throw bare handed against the Frames of Brittannia.

Been there, done that.

He used Geass troops during the battle for Damocles.

Not as good idea, as one could thing, as practically drones, they had zero initiative. Partners are way better than slaves; they collaborate for the good going of the cause, instead of simply stumbling around, not doing anything unless they are directly ordered. Lelouch has to admit, that the temptation was sometimes unbearable, and that's where his friends and lovers intervene; remembering him the price of his arrogance and giving him the love and care, that he didn't recognize, until it was fucking late. Now, it was his time to protect them, and he will do it; Pandora have mercy of anyone stupid enough to be in his way, he will have no mercy, no remorse, and his wrath shall be biblical.

Back on the main topic, Lelouch focus his attention back on the first wave of VTOLS.

They were about to pass over the top of the buildings, none of the stubborn cretins around the place, had the weaponry to shoot them down at the distance they were, but they will have a visual of him. Sitting alone in a chair, as he had not a worry in the world, in the middle of a rubble filled plaza. Lelouch, know that Cornelia was not an idiot, she will triple check for any possible ambushes, traps and any kind of contingencies, and to be honest, he would have done exactly the same, if he were in her boots.

However, this was not a battle, this was conference and an advertisement, no matter how much he wanted to show her, who he was and how much he was sorry for what he did to her beloved half sisters; this was a prelude for the incoming battles. And he need her busy, clearing up all useless resistance moves out there, JLF included, from all those fuckers, only Todoh-sensei and his blades were worth a damn; the rest were as outdated as hell, too deep in their own sacred divine right to fight for the old and death Japan, than they had forgotten how to actually fight.

Ok, he has been a little unfair there.

He knew, they were pros, however, in front of the machinery of Brittannia, and how much they had their ass whooped by the Knightmares; all the JLF had not adapted well, to the defeat of their mother country. Lelouch had plans for Japan, after all, he owned the Japanese, to be the brunch of his first Black Knights, and Kaguya would be immensely happy if he gifted her with a free Japan, even if he knows that the country was death, and only a complete renovation could save it.

He rose his helmet head and cheerfully, yet elegantly, waved in salute to the pilots of the first VTOL that pass over the roof of the wrecked buildings of the Saitama Ghetto. It was time to put the show in movement, a dozen of thoughts, and the first movement of the game he was going to play with Cornelia started.

Poor dear sister of his; she was in check mate and she didn't even know.

Too say, that the pilots of the VTOL were surprised, will be put it mildly.

As soldiers of the personal army of the Princess Cornelia, they have seen a lot of action, in a lot of places; but even them, had to admit, that this was a new one. Not every day, your supposed alpha target was waiting for you, sit in the middle of an open plaza, like he was in a Sunday morning and waving at you like it was the most normal thing on the world.

This was nuts, to a new whole level.

The VTOL pilots were professionals, so even in the absurd situation they were, they did not lower their guards, and follow the protocol and the orders, they circled the plaza; scanning with their sensors for any possible hostiles; discovering, to they surprise, that there was no one around the place; only the masked terrorist. Considering the orders, they had, to eliminate all resistance; they had to admit that this was unexpected, but on the other hand, apprehending the recently infamous Zero, would raise their possibilities to ascension up to a notch; up to a notch one.

The VTOL was a gunship class, ready for combat, but not really carrying any frames with him; so far, his mission was to scout the ghetto, and clean up any resistance they found, opening a path for the _Sutherland_ of the main forces. The crew of the ship was more than accustom to urban warfare, after all, the last campaign, had a high component of urban warfare, when the enemy transformed their cities into; filled to the brim of death traps; fortress.

Gaining a metre of terrain in those places was hell, even with the Frames, the cities are death traps for the _Gloucesters_ and_ Shutherlands,_ you never know after what corner is waiting for you an Armour piercing rocket, or if that piece of rubble in front of you, is hiding a mine, ready to blow you to smithereens when you step on it. This Area Eleven ghettos are not that different in that regard, the terrorist hide, attack and retreat, but this time, Princess Cornelia was in charge of the operations and they are going to sweep the place, stone by stone if it is needed, until they have eliminated all the scum hiding in this rat hole.

Circling the plaza, the pilot of the VTOL, pointed to the gunner of the ship, seeing that the gunner, had his ventral cannon targeting the sitting figure of the masked terrorist firmly in his sensors, he radioed back to the command base in the outskirts. They wanted to be the ones that had apprehended Zero, but they know better, to never fuck with Princess Cornelia, the woman could be good with her men, but if you even dare to disobey any of her orders, or show a glimpse of mutiny and insubordination; she will personally shoot you in the head, with that pistol cane of hers.

"Aquila Five to Central, do you copy?" called the pilot.

"Central here" soon answered a voice " what´s the matter Aquila Five?".

"We have visual of Zero" informed succinct "the target is sitting in a chair, in the middle of an open plaza, at E-25".

"Understood Aquila Five" replied the voice, and it could hide a sliver of astonishment in his voice "keep the vigilance over the target, do not let him scape, Central out".

The pilot cut the transmission, and focused in circling the plaza, so far, the target has not even moved; zooming in with the sensors of the gunship, the pilot could see, how comfortable he was sat on his chair, toying with, what does look like some kind of mobile phone.

"_Damn it!"_ the pilot cursed in his mind, as the sensor of the machine were not as good as the ones present in a Knightmare and their factspheres, so he could identify what kind of device was Zero really using.

But so far, nothing has come his way, not shooting, no Frame fire, not artillery, a welcome change for what the crew of the Aquila Five was accustomed.

"Man, whoever he is, he had brass balls!" shouted out the gunner of the ship.

"You can say that" nodded the pilot.

"Excuse me" echoed a new voice, all over the cabin, and both, pilot and gunner, flinched.

Good thing the VTOL had an autopilot function, otherwise, the ship would have done a very awkward pirouette after the temporary lost of control of the ship.

"Aquila Five, isn't it?" continued the new voice "my apologies to hack into your systems like that, but will you be so kind to pass a message to the Goddess of Victory for me?".

"UH?!" eloquently put it the gunner, all his thoughts into words, he was frenetically looking out for enemies, inside and outside of the vehicle.

On the other hand, the pilot, who has the advantage of having the data of the sensors deployed in his helmet; replied with a neuter voice.

"What message should we pass along?".

The gunner faced his partner, with incredulity painted in his face, what the heck was going on here?, the pilot pointed him to a screen in the control panel of the gunship, when the gunner lock at it, he paled, gulped and shut the hell up. The screen that he has pointed up, was the screen of the autopilot, and the autopilot was actually controlling the ship instead of the human pilot and behind the autopilot, was the one speaking through the speakers of the ship. And that was none other than the masked terrorist, appearing in their scanners as he was just sit in his chair, amicably chatting by his phone.

Lelouch smiled under his mask.

"Please tell, Princess Cornelia Li Brittannia, that I am expecting her, Lord Dalton and Lord Guilford in the following coordinates" as Zero end talking, the screen in the pilot seat, blip a pair of times, revealing a set of coordinates inside the ghetto "we have a lot of things to discuss, among those things, the truth about Orange and the lineage it protects".

"We, will rely the message" nodded the gunner, seeing with wide eyes, how perfectly has the man hacked the systems of the VTOL, ordering the machine to just circle the place.

The gunner knew perfectly well, that if Zero wanted, he could shut down the ship, making them crash down on one of the surrounding buildings.

"Thanks for your cooperation" replied Zero and let go of the ship; not that they will notice instantaneously, but it will take them more than enough time to allow him to leisurely walk into the shadows of one of the buildings and slip into the large tunnels of the ghetto.

It was a very curious thing, half of Tokyo seems to be made of tunnels; from the tunnels that he use in the Ashford Academy to slip under the radar and went gambling around, to the tunnels that the Kozuki Alliance used for flee out of the Shinjuku Skirmish; as the press seems to call the battle that took place there, followed by a lot of veiled insults about the competence of the Brittannian soldiers. One can drive for hours on those tunnels, mostly used for maintenance of the platforms that conform a lot of the Area, but in the ghetto, things are sorely different, as the tunnels were used by the Japanese to make a living as good as they can, scavenging and smuggling all kind of goods.

He made good use of those same tunnels in the past, and he will make good use of those tunnels in the present and in the future; they were made for this kind of things, and in a sense, he loved how he felt like a magician slipping past the noses of the audience every time they used them. Not so long, after he entered the tunnel, a dark car was waiting for him, ready to carry him for the next spot in the plan.

Lazily leaning on the side of the car, Rivalz was smoking a cigarette, patiently waiting for his boss, if one made a comparison between the student in the Ashford Academy and the youngster leaning on the car; one will reach the conclusion that they were not the same; not even by far. The blue haired boy repaired on Zero arrival and tossing the smoke into the air of the tunnel, threw the rest of the cigarette in a puddle and grab the keys of the car from the breast pocket of his jacket.

"How has it gone?" asked in a tone more proper of a hardened man, than the happy and cheerful boy, he appears to be at the academy.

"Perfectly" shrugged Lelouch, removing the mask of his face and scratching his nose; the worst part of carrying the mask all the day around, was when your nose itches, it was a torture " I can only guess how much Cornelia is fuming right now, but she will appear".

"How are you so sure?" ask Rivalz, entering the car and pulled the ignition on.

Lelouch toss the mask and the cape on the back sit, and removing his under black silk mask, he shuffled trough the contents of the Mini-fridge of the car, serving himself a glass of frozen scotch.

"_Jeremiah was right, this spirituous is very tasteful, I still want some mead, but this is great nonetheless" _though Lelouch, before answering his friend.

"I know her" smirked Lelouch putting down the mask and taking a sip from the cold drink, he didn't offer his friend, he was driving after all " and she will not pass a chance like this; no matter how slim it is; to discover the truth about Orange".

"Sneaky bastard" chuckled Rivalz without malice " so, what do we do now?" asked the boy, driving the reinforced car, into the labyrinth like tunnels of the ghetto " we have with time to spare before she appears in the designated spot".

"I have some business to run before that" nodded Lelouch, who was already running a dozen operations with his domain over the machines " but, I prefer to be there as soon as possible, just in case the Yamato Alliance, suddenly develop cold feet and start having doubts about all this".

"I would have Geassed all those fuckers" fiercely smirked Rivalz " at last, something good will come from those rebels wannabes ".

"Now, is the former resistance member speaking" pointed out Lelouch to his old and dear friend " as much, as I concur with your in that regard, this time around, I will not abuse my Geass".

"_For what end?, my Authority is far more efficient, better, purer and stronger"_ added Lelouch in his mind.

"Your call, mate" laughed Rivalz, confidently driving the car into the maze, the vehicle was a complete GPS with all the routes of the place, being actualized each hour more or less "oh, and before it slips out of my mind, what on earth are you going to do with your harem?".

Lelouch almost choked on the scotch, when his friend fired at him that question.

"Beg your pardon?" recovered Lelouch.

"Lelouch, I am not blind, neither is Milly" smiled Rivalz through the rearmirror "well, she only knows about Kallen, but I know about C.C, and I don't buy for a second you have not noticed the Knigtmare sized crush of Shirley on you" Rivalz was enjoying seeing how the confident facade of Lelouch slowly crumbled.

"Look man" started Rivalz " last time, I was as lost as you, ok, I was only after Milly" admitted Rivalz " it took us almost dying to recognize we were a pair of fools, but you, come on, mate, you have already died once, what more do you need?".

"Is complicated" chuckled Lelouch.

"Category five Bullshit" snorted Rivalz and Lelouch blinked.

Was just him or for a second has Magnus reincarnated in Rivalz?, exact same words, exact same intention; talk about a blast from the past.

"Look, I know; you are Zero, hear me roar" intoned dramatically and mockingly Rivalz, making Lelouch laugh.

"_Pandora bless us, its good to be able to laugh with a friend like this" _thought Lelouch, how many times has he denied himself, just the basic human conversation, fearing for the sake of his plans; for his lies, never to be discovered.

"But even you need a good woman at your side, mate; you have two wonderful women at your side, I know them, I fought alongside them, trying to save Nunna and Cornelia from the hands of that snake of a brother of yours" Rivalz raise and eyebrow " and speaking about those two, how come neither Nunna, nor Cornelia has no idea about what´s going on?".

"I tend to be very selective about whom do I awoken" confessed Lelouch, this time around, he was not burying himself in a cocoon of lies and deceptions, however, such grace is only extended to his inner circle, the rest of the world are open game for him.

"Jeremiah, Sayoko, Kallen, C.C, Milly and you are the short list that had their memories back" numbered Lelouch taking another sip from his cold and delicious scotch " I plan to awoke more people as the time and the Rebellion advances, like Ohgi and Villetta".

"Uh, don't sit on it for too much, Lelouch" advised Rivalz " you power is a nasty one, sure, but believe me, I have the memories of the past; up to the point when Milly and I were in the wrong side of an execution squad; and I remember very well, how much your death and sacrifice affected them".

The glass of Lelouch crash in his hands, but none of the shard were able to pierce his Campione skin.

"I know, Rivalz, Pandora protect me, I know, that's why I am so reluctant; not precisely fitting for the almighty Zero, eh?" chuckled Lelouch with a sad and pained tone in his voice, if only Rivalz know how much he despised himself.

"Bah, fuck the legends" snorted Rivalz " I am talking with my friend now; one that carries the weight of the world over his shoulders, again" remarked the last world, and Lelouch just smirked, he has to do that, he was Campione after all.

" Listen to my advice will ya?, just trust the old gang, when they discovered the truth, way latter, they were devastated. Ok, you want to be careful about who awakes and who not, but Lelouch, don't go Ice King on us, again, will ya?".

"Milly has convinced you to spoke with me isn't it?" nailed Lelouch the motives of his friend in a second.

"He threatened me with the couch, an entire week" shuddered Rivalz.

"Ah, I understand" smirked Lelouch.

He was happy to have two of his dearest friends back, and what is best, was that both of them had retained the maturity and skills they achieved, when they were helping the Black Knights; when Schneizel betrayed Nunnaly and transform the slowly growing Utopia, into a nightmare. Like Lelouch was doing with his relationship with Kallen and C.C, they had decided to keep their relationship in secret, after all, this were their teen counterparts, not the experienced and strong adults they were, when they died. Still, that was not really a problem for all the hot dates and sex they could muster, they were young and vital again; and considering how was Milly as teenager, it was not really a surprise that she and Rivalz were doing the beast with two backs as much as they could.

Rivalz was whipped around Millys pinky, and she knew it, that's why the woman could make that kind of threats and be sure, that Rivalz will go to hell back and forth if its needed, to keep her happy. Lelouch and C.C were doing the same every night; she said that he has a lot of years to compensate.

For a second, Lelouch imagine all the women that had caused some kind of impression on him during his life, all of them with very tempting lingerie and waiting for him, at the four post royal bed, he had as Emperor of Brittannia. Shutting that line of thought before it went too far, Lelouch; with a blush slowly creeping into his checks; turn his attention back to the operations in his mind and the light conversation he was having with his friend. They had the perfect cover, the chauffeur of a young Brittannian scion, a cover that allow them to move freely through all the Brittannian controlled Area, and when they get in the ghettos, well, that's what the tunnels were for.

Lelouch focused into the systems of Cornelias G-1, he wanted to see the face of her sister at his challenge; oh, he has phrased it as an invitation, but he knows that Cornelia will see it as a challenge.

He had a second and very powerful motivator hidden under his sleeve, just in case, the woman doesn't play her part of this performance. As a side note; it was astonishing, how Lelouch was unaware of how much was changing; how much was changing into a Campione that would made, Pandora and Mordred proud, and not only because of how he was controlling the [Black King] by leaps and bounds, but in his attitude, his manners, his mental process.

He was a baby Campione, not even an entire month pass since he became one of the children of Pandora, but she was right; this one was special.

G-1 Mobile Base/Command Room

Andreas Dalton was a hardened veteran, he has saw enough war to fill a dozen of lives, and yet, he keeps being a soldier, mostly because he didn't know what other thing he could do with his life; all his adoptive children were already in the military; honoring him by forming the Glaston Knights, a unit that has one of the best records in the Brittannian military. Andreas was a man that didn't have time for social calls, he was a general of the Empire, always in the battlefield, and of course, it didn't help that his appearance was a bit intimidating; between his strong frame and his scarred face, he tended to displease the women surrounding him.

Except the people of the military, that had already seen worst.

He was loyal to the fault to the Princesses of the Empire, and when the message of Zero reached the ears of Cornelia, he sighed and prepared for the volcanic eruption that will surely follow the end of the message. He has seen the footage of the gunship, and despite being a flamboyant ass; Dalton had to admit, that Zero had style, all in his gesture and speech patterns spoke of high education and a massive amount of self confidence. Dalton had seems other leaders in action; being the furious Princess near him, the most impressive of all of them, leaving apart her father, but that man scared the shit out of everyone who has met him.

With that being said, he sensed something wrong in the man in the screen, there was something about him, that didn't add up, it was not only his absolute confidence, or the fact, that he has managed to hack and control an entire VTOL gunship with a terrifying easiness.

There was something on him that make his skin cringe, he hadn't seem anything like that, since the massacres of Africa, where Rommel butchered his armoured corps in Libia and Congo, before they became new; yet incredible unstable; areas. Cornelia was a hurricane in the battlefield, he has seen her conquer the enemy with her pilot skills and her unbreakable will and thirst for victory, but the pose of Zero was one that he has never seen, except in the Emperor, and only when he was about to cause tremendous harm upon a poor sod that has wronged him. He couldn't see the face of the masked man, but everything in his body language, spoke of terrible danger, he was living menace, and Dalton knew, that the sooner they get rid of this terrorist with the knack for the dramatics, the better for all of them.

The snarl of Cornelia called back his attention, the Second Princess of the Empire was grabbing the railing of the command centre with enough force to slightly bent the metal, her usually regal and beautiful features, showing a scowl of anger.

Near her, Guilford, her favourite knight, was equally angered but he was able to hid it, and instead he just stare at the screen of the command room, trying to figure out what the hell, the terrorist want of all three of them. Dalton has to admit, even if it was clear as the sun, that this was a fucking ambush for the three most important officers, Zero has managed to laid it out in a way, that it was almost sure that will made Cornelia fall for it.

Orange, was the only secret that could lead Cornelia into disarray, as it lands too close to home for her; it was no secret that she and Euphemia loved the Vi Brittannia siblings; Dalton itself has the highest respect for their mother, Marianne the Flash; and Cornelia did make of the woman her role model. When she found about how there was a possibility for both siblings to be alive, she jumped at the chance to see it for herself, unfortunately, all sources and witness of those years were part of the ghetto, and the info, that people like her could get from those places, was limited to say the last. Still, now this masked menace, has come out of nowhere and suddenly reveal that he knows what inside the Project Orange, that alone was more than enough for Cornelia to lost her temper and wanted to empty her pistol cane in the face of the masked bastard.

She snarled for a second time, and started to bark orders, making the army that she has brought to the ghetto, to actually enter even deeper into the place, she was going to catch Zero, even if it is the last thing they do; she ordered all the forces deployed in the ghetto, from infantry, to VTOL, to be meticulous, to do not left anything to luck.

They obeyed, after all, it was their Goddess of Victory, the one that has ordered them to be careful about what they do, and after all those years with her, following her victory, after victory; they do as she has told them to do. In four hours, the entire ghetto was pacified, and for the eternal surprise of all the strategist, generals and officers present in the field, they had not encountered anything that could be called resistance. They had lost one single unit into one ambush; as a lot of terrorist shot down the frames with concentrated anti-frame bazooka fire, but that has been the most standing event of the day; some other minor skirmishes here and there, but in general, they had been quickly obliterated by the superior fire power of the frames and the infantry.

But not a single civilian, not a single eleven, out of the ones in the ambush of course; all the place seems like a ghost town.

That sent some serious ripples among the Brittannian; that was impossible, unless they know of the attack beforehand, and this attack was a secret keep close, by the higher echelons of the command, namely, Cornelia, Guilford, Dalton and another couple of generals. It was impossible to evacuate such a big place so quickly, even if they had sentries that could have sent the word of the incoming army, considering the population that resided in the ghetto, even those unregistered, there should be a cavalcade of Elevens trying to get out.

That could only means, that they have evacuated beforehand, that's how they had managed to set up the ambush that has destroyed Icaro squad, they knew they were coming.

And that leads to the previous statement, there was a filtration among the higher echelons, a conclusion that Cornelia seems to have reach too, she faced them, eyeing the generals in front of her like a starving wolf would eye a bleeding goose. With a loud thud of the edge of his pistol cane over the metal of the command room; a sound that made everyone flinch from the sound, it was like the hammering of the pistol that was going to execute them; she asked a very simple question.

"How the hell has this happened?" ask the woman with an angered scowl.

Dalton has to admit, that he was at the same lost of words at the rest, he only focused on the message and the video of the gunship, Zero was in total control of the machine, exactly like he has done on the bridge, during the pantomime of the execution of Kururugi Suzaku.

He can hack frames.

A thought that made Dalton felt a chill run up his spine; the frames were the absolute war machines of all countries of the world, the spear, the sword and the shield of everyone, and this man was capable of putting them under his command. How?, how was such a thing possible?, theoretically it should have been impossible, the systems of the frames are incredible complex, and every one of them posses incredible advanced ECM; hack a frame is an impossible labour, theoretically. It was an ongoing rumour, that half I+D departments of the world had a collective stroke after the theatrical presentation of the masked man, in less than a week, he was the number 1 terrorist in the world, and the most wanted for half the intelligence agencies in the world.

Cornelia has ordered to upload the most advanced ECM they could, just in case Zero tries to repeat the trick of the bridge, but it has done the same with a VTOL, as they suspected, the man was somehow capable of controlling machines up to a point. It does depend in sight and complexity, he could control a VTOL from five hundred metres, but the _Sutherland_s of the bridge need to be under the hundred metres distance, and in the radius of the transmission he did to take control of them.

Earl Loyd almost tear apart the machines cores, in order to discover what the fuck has Zero done with the system, and for what they could found, he has just introduced a core order in the main program of the machines, allowing him to access to the systems of the frame, like he was the pilot. That pudding freak, tried to explain them, but between his oddities, and the fact that none of them were actual engineers, all the explanation was a little difficult to follow, much less understand; still Dalton got enough of it, to comprehend that Zero posses and incredible mind and he has done something that all the Avalon engineering corps will sell their souls for.

In the embarrassed silence that follow the question of Cornelia, all the generals were trying to find an excuse, that did not end with a bullet through their heads, and for the eternal surprise of all the people present in the room, the voice of the said Earl of Pudding appear in the comms.

"Hello, sorry to interrupt, but it is true that Zero has done it again?" echoed Loyd trough the speakers with that sing song voice of his.

"Asplund!" hissed Cornelia " this is not the time for your crazy antics, get out of the line, before I shot you" ordered Cornelia with an echoing voice, making all the general stand in attention, instinctively.

"Ah, scary" chuckled Loyd " but your highness, I think, I know how does Zero, what he does, how can he hack our tech like it was nothing".

That shut up everyone in the command room, it was not a secret that every one here consider the eccentric genius, little more than a nuisance, only useful for the _Lancelot_ that he carries everywhere, one of the best machines that exist. Cornelia, frowned and a with a voice that promises eternities of pain for any idiot that disappoint her, she glared the screen where Loyd was and simply stated.

"Explain".

Loyd shuddered and his smile drop a little, he knew when it was not the time for jokes; this was very close to Cornelias heart, and the Princess was not famous for her infinite tolerance precisely.

"Ah, yes your highness, just give a moment and...there it is" Loyd push some buttons on the keyboard and at his sided appeared another set of screens, all of them filled with frame code; the basic programming that all frames had, and allow them to move and react to the orders of their pilots.

"You see, all our frames, from the most humble _Glasgow_ to my wonderful _Lancelot,_ shared the same basic code, the same programming" explained Loyd " and as impossible as it could sound, Zero has managed to infect any frame in their proximity with his own computer virus, one that overrides the commands of the pilot and make the frame obey him, as he was the pilot".

"That's preposterous!" voiced one of the generals " it is impossible to simply hack a frame, much less in combat, the factspheres, the comms, everything is protected from that kind of attacks, how can a man with a single device hack a frame in an instant?".

"We don't have an idea" shrugged and smiled Loyd, but soon lost all humour, when the growl of Cornelia made him get back on track " I have managed to isolate some scrap data from the infected systems of the _Sutherlands_ and I have to admit, it is glorious, however what intrigues me the most, is that it carries his own signature".

"A signature?, what kind of signature?" asked Cornelia.

"Whenever the virus infects a system" explained Loyd, really fascinated with the computer virus and the skills of Zero " he creates a new identity inside the core programming, essentially, transforming Zero, into the owner of the frame, and when it happens, it lefts a signature inside the program, a series of zeros and ones that together, left two words".

"What two words?" asked one general a bit surprised for all this, all that chat about systems had him lost, long ago.

"Black King" smiled Loyd widely.

Saitama Guetto/Quarters of Yamato Alliance

What´s left from the Yamato alliance could be counted under the dozen, and the shit has not even hit the fan.

All the leaders of the resistance group; most of them old JLF or people with strong bonds with said military organization; has preferred to organize a resistance and try to ambush the forces of Cornelia, instead of listen to the advice of Zero, and evacuate the ghetto before they were shot down.

Courtesy of Zero, they could ear and in some cases, seeing in direct ;thanks to a quick hack into the vid feed of the VTOLs and tanks of the army of Cornelia; how they were being massacred, even the few that prefer to surrender than to actual fight, when they lost the spirit they had before.

Its difficult to get in the mood, when you only had a rusty AR; an old model from the war; and the enemy is pointing the gun of a Knightmare at you, not to mention, even the most dedicated soldier could see his will waver, when the rest of your unit is reduced to mince meat by a slash harken. Zero has already advised about it, Zero has asked them, to lead an evacuation, that they are not ready to fight, not in the state they were, barely armed with infantry guns and a bunch of anti-knightmare rocket launchers.

Cornelia will butcher all of them, she wanted Zero and she was cleaning the house, so to speak, starting with the little alliances and resistance groups she could find, and finally laying siege to the very same JLF. Zero has advised them, and in their arrogance, they had preferred to ignore his advice and face the enemy their way, and all of them could see how did it end; in the complete annihilation of all squads out there, and the ones that tried to surrender, were quickly shot down.

The message was clear; this was an extermination campaign, anyone armed inside the Ghetto will be shot down mercilessly, Cornelia was way beyond the point of mercy, and Zeros provocation has only enraged her even more. The quarters of the Yamato Alliance, were in the furthest corners of the ghetto, Zero has already prepared a huge store house for all the few survivors and as many civilians as they could gather before the battle commence.

Using the tunnels of the ghetto, they had managed to almost evacuate everyone in the ghetto, civilians first, guarded by the _Sutherlands_ of the Kozuki group, just in case, an advance patrol of Brittannia sees them and tried to eliminate the unarmed civilians. So far, the evacuation has being a complete succees, with thousands of civilians getting the hell out of there, before they were eliminated by the invasion force of Cornelia, or during the crossfire between the resistance and the Brittannian forces. The automatic fire of an AR from a knightmare could pierce concrete walls, like it is wet paper, you can imagine what kind of horrid damages could it done to the flesh and bones of a common human.

They have already witnessed the gruesome death of one member of the Yamato alliance, when a slash harken pierced through his entire body, completely obliterating him, in a shower of blood, and gore. That was a nasty way of die, and the rest of the unit soon fell under the shooting of a _Sutherland_, as the machine open fire with his gun in automatic, vaporizing the bodies into red mists.

There is no really need to point out, how low the morale of the Yamato Alliance was, the ten or so surviving members; not counting the civilian support, only combatants; were seeing how all for they had fight for years, was slowly but surely being obliterated by the army of the Witch of Brittannia. The group of Zero, the Kozuki group, were seeing it as well, they have tried to help the Yamato alliance, and they have offered help and evacuation, but they will not sacrifice their machines in a battle that was completely lost beforehand, the few _Sutherlands _ they had, were immensely valuable for them.

Ohgi knew about Zeros Geass, and seeing how Brittannia was executing his fellow resistance comrades, was putting some seriously doubts in his mind; he knew Zero could have simply Geassed all of them, and they would have obeyed every order to the letter. But Zero has offered his hand to the Yamato alliance and they had slapped him instead, not really trusting a newcomer and preferring to trust in their way of doing things, one that has just lead almost all of them into a carnage. Surprisingly, Zero has shrugged and move at his own pace into the battlefield, preparing the meeting he was going to have with Cornelia Li Brittannia and her general and trusted knight, Ohgi didn't know what the hell will they be talking about, but in all honesty, Zero scared him. Sometimes he could appear as a human being, and sometimes, he just irradiates menace; Ohgi had problems to endure his presence when he was in one of those moods, it was a pressure that fells over them like a lead slate, and for what he could muster, Zero didn't do it consciously; it was more, a reaction to his own emotions.

When he was calm, everything was ok, when he was not calm, oh boy, run for the hills.

The rest of the group was, more or less, in the same boat as him, in regard to their indomitable leader, they feared him and respect him in equal measure, and they had to admit that Zero did achieve results.

So far, the only one that didn't appear as taken aback as the rest of them, was Kallen, and Ohgi suspected it could have something to do with a starting crush of the redhead for their new and mysterious leader. Not that he could blame the girl, so far, Zero was their hopes and prays answered, but still, a part of Ohgi feared that Zero will cause more harm than good, he was simply inhuman sometimes, and Ohgi; who had made a promise to Naoto; feared for the heart of his surrogate sister.

All the resistance reunited in the safe house that Zero has arranged for them, way beyond the ghetto, and full to the brim with supplies for a month. One could say all he wanted about Zero, but if you are part of his group, you are treated very well, hands down in that matter; only a glance to the _Sutherlands_ is enough to corroborate that fact, and the safe house on were they standing right now, was another proof. The Kozuki alliance feared about how has Zero managed to secure such a place, geass being the more quick and safe bet, but Zero has already assured that there was no need for such a thing, when you had deep pockets.

Money was far better than Geass sometimes, and much less dangerous, he simply rented the place, and pay a substantial bribe to the police force to forgot to patrol this place for a month. Corruption turned against them, it was poetical and what Zero loved the most, a lot more efficient. Both groups, the Yamato alliance, and the Kozuki group, joined together in the safe house, after they had finally guided the last civilians out of the danger zone, it has been a record evacuation, specially with the hounds of Cornelia after their heels, but thanks to Zero routes and planning, they had managed to do it on time.

Now, they are waiting for Zero and the consequences of the meeting he was celebrating inside and abandon building, only Kallen knew how important this was for the Campione, and how it would change everything from now on.

She just hoped, it was for the better, and where not walking again, the path that lead to the Zero Requiem.

Her heart will not endure that for a second time.

Ruined Building/Saitama ghetto.

Zero was patiently waiting, as he played with a little and ragged chess game, placed on the table in front of him.

He had a little time to spare before the arrival of the main guest, and he will allow himself some moments of contemplation before the inevitable clash of will, that is surely going to ensure his meeting with Cornelia. Nelly has always been headstrong, once her mind was settled, she was like a bulldozer, she will never stop until she achieves what she wanted. Being honest, Lelouch admired that trait of her, she was not a sly liar, neither a manipulator, a cheater or a coward. She was honest and straightforward to the fault, however, she was far form being stupid, in fact, she was one of the most cunning strategic minds of Brittannia.

She only lacked the talent of thinking outside of the box, like Schneizel and Lelouch does.

Moving the pieces over the board with a lazy gesture, Lelouch cornered the black pieces in several ways, just to broke through the game and achieving victory, using his black king piece, as checkmate piece. He has to admit it, Schneizel give him quite the lesson in that party before that pantomime of a wedding between Odysseus and Tianzi, when they played a game of chess, with Suzaku and his mask as prices.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and now he could understand why Schneizel wanted to know, what kind of man he was, was a complete madman like his father?, or would Zero be an interesting enemy in the quest of Schneizel of world domination through fear?. He should have caught his white king with his own black king and then, take Suzaku, wrap him in red tape and offer him as a gift to Kaguya, as he promised to her, that would have been a great way to peg him down a little, Suzaku was a Knight of the Round by then, and he seriously need a dose of reality.

A reality check was, still in the oven; but Suzaku has earned some halcyon days with Euphemia; after all, they truly love each other, as absurd as it could sound, an eleven and a Brittannian princess, it was something out of a romance novel.

As the old saying goes, reality surpass fiction.

And, if Lelouch hadn't Geassed Euphemia with the order of massacre all Elevens, they surely had been a very cute couple. Is at these moments, when Leouch made balance of his actions of the past, when he discovered how really damaged he was.

Magnus was right since the begging, he was damaged, mind and body, all his life has been nothing but an immense performance, on where Charles and Marianne had written his role as the Devil king, who will bring all the world to kneel in front of him, and rule over an empty shell of a planet. And what Lelouch hated more than anything, was the knowledge of how his parents were right, up to a point of course, but they were right in the idea of making the worlds of the C world pay for the stupidity they commit; in the future, but they did commit it nonetheless. Pandora was pissed off beyond worlds, at the image of what the Order has done to the Myth realm, turning a place of wonders and power, into an arrogant bunch of jokers and pathetic cowards, that feared the same humanity from where they derived form.

As goddess of knowledge, Pandora knew of the origins of the Order and how the Geass, were pieces of _Authorities,_ rip off their original place and nailed forcefully into the contractors. The double letters, being nothing that disease transmitter, and as all disease carriers, immune to the disease they carry. It was nasty and very disagreeable, but when Pandora and Magnus reached the C world, well, the things really did get interesting.

Lelouch tumbled the white king and lazily start to reorganize the pieces for another game.

"_It´s me or are they late?_" mussed Lelouch and with a thought, he sent his power all around the place, it didn't take him long, to discover the presence of a couple of snipers in the near buildings and a two VTOLs over him.

However, what he did caught his attention was the presence of the trio of _Gloucester_ that were moving in his direction, it does seems that Cornelia has listened to him, and was coming personally, however, something inside of the mind of Lelouch, told him that it was too easy. Cornelia is not stupid, she would no doubt suspect of foul play, and in any other circumstances, she will be completely right, after all, in appearance, it does seems like this was an elaborate ambush. Lelouch counted three teams of snipers, a couple of VTOLs with a dozen soldiers each, ready to be deployed in the building, and of course a trio of the most capable Knightmare pilots of Brittannia.

Cornelia, Guilford and Dalton.

The young Campione, just pondered about how dependant of the tech has the military become; of course, it was almost impossible to find anyone with even a shadow of the power he had to control machines and tech, but even then, he has his mind inside all the tech around, and could turn it against Cornelia and her army, with something as easy, as a thought.

Taking the reins of his own mind, Lelouch frowned under the mask, this was Not what he wanted.

He will not kill any of them if it not necessary; that killing oriented mind was the one that lead to the Zero requiem, this time he wanted to live, he wanted to be with the people he loved; and that means, zero unnecessary deaths. It has been accidental, but pun totally intended, this was a new Zero, and even if Lelouch didn't notice it, he was actually wrestling with his own power, it was another of the test Mordred had for him; to see if the boy could suppress his worst desires and have an iron will.

So far Lelouch approved, but this was only the beginning.

Outside the building, where Lelouch was passing the time, lost in his own thoughts, the forces of Cornelia have already surrounded all the building, even the tunnels under the buildings, had a squad of infantry and a crouched Knightframe, blocking the path, just in case Zero tried to flee pass them. Cornelia wanted Zero in an interrogation room, the man knew too much and knew the truth about the siblings, she was not going to let him escape; she was going to interrogate personally the man, and make him speak, even if she had to tear him apart limb by limb.

Back in the G-1, nearby the eastern limits of the ghetto, the rest of the forces, were organizing the retreat, this was not even a battle anymore, and just having the squads of frames jogging around an empty ghetto was a waste of sakuradite and time. From all the forces Cornelia has carried around, she has only lost a squad, and only because how the resistance had a lot of armour piercing missiles, but appart of that, she has effectively eradicated the Yamato alliance and a lot of other resistance groups.

Soon, she will eradicate almost all resistance groups in Area Eleven, and even those had their days count, they will fall and being reborn anew, proud and powerful, as the Black Knights.

Over the terrain of the ghetto, they barely were left a dozen of frames, a hundred of soldiers along their armoured carriers and a half a dozen of VTOLS, two of them, only equipped to recognizance. Those last two, were the ones that were circling the building, combing every single piece of concrete and rubble, in the search for possible menaces; their priority was to quadruple check the place of the meeting, in order to prevent any possible ambushes or traps.

Lelouch was not surprised for the meticulous of the VTOLS, and the scans he could sense from the factspheres of the frames, not a hundred of metres of him, looking for hidden troops, bombs or whatever they suspect, he could have brought to the meeting.

Nelly was universally hated outside of the Brittannian royal house, mind you, even if all the men under her command, consider her, their Goddess of Victory.

Lelouch chuckled when that thought cross his mind.

Kaguya said something similar to him, that she was called the Goddess of Victory of the JLF, and he replied that he has already sign a deal with the devil, so it was improper to call for the help of a goddess, when he was a warlock. Now, he was the most akin to the gods, not to mention, he did meet a goddess, the playful, brutal and generous Pandora, the woman who made all this possible, that give him hope and a new future.

"_Would it be improper, if I actually swear and pray in her name?"_ blinked Lelouch a pair of times under his mask, when that thought echoed in his mind.

Now, that he was a Campione and Pandora has become his mother in a confused and disturbing sort of way; and with the consideration that all Campiones were Godslayers in essence, should he pray or even swear in the name of a deity?.

It was one of questions that you never does yourself, but when you do, the universe collapsed over itself, and leaves you wondering what the hell has happened with your sanity. Lelouch shook his head and smiled, he was so enraptured by his own idiocies that he has almost missed the squad that has entered in the building, and was combing the place, floor by floor, until they reached the entrance of the room where he was.

Sighing inside his mask, Lelouch prepared for the show, this was one of the things that he could never do in the first time line.

He sucked at physical activities, for god sake, he couldn't even end a lap in the PE class, without his lungs collapsing and his legs becoming lead. But no more of that, all thanks to the wonderful gift of his brother Magnus; the power of the [Jotunblut] was more than welcome, Lelouch wasn't very sure, if it counted as one of his _Authorities_ or it was another thing entirely.

Mordred was on the same boat, the deity and legend in the _Authority_ has never seen anything like the power of the blood of Magnus, so he simple recommend Lelouch to take it and use it for what is worth, so far it has only been beneficial for him. With the power of the [Jotunblut] running through his veins, Lelouch was physically perfect. If you mix all the gold medallist of the Olympics and fuse all of them into one single body, in perfect harmony, you could get an idea about how it was.

Strength, endurance, dexterity, reflexes, Lelouch was the top predator in the building, and thanks to the power of the [Black King] he has already categorized and mixed, possibly, all the combat styles of the planet.

Well, not all, only, those that are available online.

In resume, he had the knowledge of a lot of combat styles of this world, and a body that could made Olympic athletes look like snails.

The squad was about to be fucked.

Lelouch made some calculations, he could listen through his helmet, how the men at the other side of the wall, were preparing to barge in, he has already thought about that possibility, that Cornelia will try to apprehend him, and after put him in chains and torture him, until he told her all she wanted to hear. Six men, lightly armed, connected through radio and GPS to the G-1, a camera in the helmet of one of them, recording the action for future reference and tactical analysis. Not really a problem for him, being honest, with just a word, he could have all of them dancing or running till the end of the world and back, but if he did that, he will be falling in the same path, he did the time he received the Geass.

With impressive haste, he run some simulations in his head, and when he finished the last touches of his plan of action, the door of the room exploded and a trio of canisters fly directly inside the room. Basic tactic, but effective, smoking the room and then barging in after the gas has reduced the effectiveness of the enemy, however, Lelouch was one step ahead and when the men tried to enter, they found the punch of Lelouch.

The fastest punch in the world was recorded as 44 miles per hour, toppled with the strength of a weight lifting gold medallist and to finish the recipe, add the skills of a professional boxer.

The first who enter the room was sent flying five metres backwards, with his gas mask broken, along her nose and possibly with a severe concussion. Lelouch has to dodge a round of bullets, as he recognized that the reflexes of these soldiers were top-notch, but he ducked and then raise again, with a powerful axe kick, that slam the shooter into one of the walls, breaking the wall and possibly three or four of his ribs; it was a good thing the armour of the soldiers was a good one, otherwise, he will be dead by now.

Frowning under his mask, Lelouch adjusted his strikes a little, he didn't want to kill this soldiers, and what it worse, he has confirmed what he feared about his combat abilities. He blocked the knife of one of the soldiers and with a quick punch to the gut and a judo technique, send the unconscious man flying against a wall. His style was almost by the book, that means that even with his superior body and his knowledge, there was no real instinct, no real intention behind his movements, they were extracted directly from a text book.

Something that a clever opponent will have no problems in use it for his own advantage, and turn his own abilities against him, unfortunately, that will only lead to a one single conclusion, that Lelouch hated deeply.

He would have to train.

"_Damn it"_ cursed in his mind.

Lelouch then proceed to disarm another soldier by grabbing the rifle and tossing him around like a rag doll, using the momentum gained by the movement, he rolled to the side, dodging some bullets and after shortening the distance, knock the fifth soldier out with an uppercut, under the mask filters and directly on the chin. Using the koed soldier as shield, Lelouch pick up some stones from the floor and tossing the unconscious body to the remaining soldier, he threw the stones to his weapon, knocking it out of the hand of the soldier and leaving her hand numb.

The only soldier left, was the one of the camera, with a hand almost broken and one comrade body on top of her, Lelouch moved on his blind spot and with a quick manoeuvre, rip of the helmet and the camera off the head of the soldier; knocking her out with a devastating jab, when she turned her face to see what happened.

Playing with the helmet, like it was a trophy, and don't really caring about the gas on his surroundings, his mask was sealed; but even then, he was pretty much sure, his superior constitution will be more than enough to deal with the gas. Putting the helmet and the camera over the chessboard, Lelouch tinkered a little with the device.

"Greeting my dear guest, I apologize for the mess, but I have to deal with some rude intruders" mocked Zero to the camera " please do not be shy and come, join me, in this little meeting I have organized, we have much to discuss after all".

Now, Lelouch thought about how he should have seen it coming, Cornelia was not one that enjoyed mockery, in fact, she took everything personally, that's perhaps why she was so good fighter and pilot. The front wall of the building was being tore apart by the hands of the frame of Cornelia, who has run to the building with the landspinners of his custom _Gloucester_ and open herself a path, by completely destroying, walls and obstacles between her and Zero.

Zero, on the other hand, was calmly dragging the unconscious bodies of the soldiers, out of the wreckage and carrying the table and the chairs to the next room, the one when he stood before was going to be completely useless in a minute, when Cornelia ended the demonstration of pure power of her frame.

Lelouch couldn't but be impress with his sister, no doubt she was feared and revered in the same measure, after all, if she pulled stunts like this every time she entered in battle, well, the enemy was completely fucked.

A pang of gilt enter the brain of Lelouch, as he remembered how devastated Cornelia was, when he fought her over the copy of the Aries Villa in the Viceroy Palace, or her eyes when the horror cavalcade of the Demon Emperor; the last movements of the Zero Requiem; parade right in front of her eyes. Standing in front of the metallic form of the Knightmare, with his cape hugging his form, Lelouch regally waited for the entrance of his beautiful sister, the so called Goddess of Victory. Cornelia did not make him wait for much, and in a moment, she exited her cockpit and walked with a frown on her strong but beautiful features, her cane strongly hitting the surface of her frame, until she reached the hole in the wall and stared at Zero.

Zero did a reverence, a Brittannian style reverence, like if they were at the court, after all, Cornelia deserved it; with the light of the evening on her back, regally standing over her kneeling _Gloucester_, and her dark pink hair surrounding her strong but feminine features, she was one breath taking picture.

"Greetings, Second Princess Cornelia" said Zero, catching the chessboard, as he suspected what he was going to happen next, but couldn't resist, it was too good let it pass " I see that the rumours of your beauty and strength were not fake".

And, as he suspected, the poor chessboard took the bullet destined to his mask, Cornelia never take well provocations, neither flirting nor teasing; Lelouch knew that Guilford finally managed to marry her, and mentally take his hat off, honoring the bollocks of the man, however, he couldn't, by his dear life, imagine how the wooing of her sister could have been. The canon of the pistol cane was still smoking as an angry and slightly blushing Cornelia was still pointing her canon at the masked man, who was still covering himself behind the sturdy chessboard.

"_Good quality indeed, thanks Pandora for the sturdy wood of this board" _chuckled Lelouch inside his mind.

"My apologies" the mocking tone of the voice of Zero was unmistakeable " did I say, anything that offend you, Princess?".

"Cut it" snarled Cornelia, she wanted answers and was not in the mood for games "you are going to answer to all my questions Zero".

"Of course" simply said Zero and Cornelia blinked, she really didn't expect that.

"What?" asked visibly surprised " that easy?".

"Of course" repeated Zero again with amusement in his voice " that's, why I arranged this meeting, my dear Princess, shall we move to the next room?" ask Zero elegantly bowing an allowing Cornelia to pass before him " I'm afraid, this one is not suited for our discussion".

"Dalton, Guilford, get in here" ordered Cornelia through her comm.

Zero smiled under his mask, she couldn't possibly know, but Lelouch knows about how Dalton was pointing an experimental Varis Rifle at him; Lelouch could hack into the systems of the machine and see how the target was right on him.

Any wrong move, and Dalton will vaporize him.

On second thought, Lelouch didn't want to test his resilience to physical damage against a Varis Rifle, the weapon could cause him severe harm, perhaps do not killing him, but yes more than enough pain to be out of commission for a while.

"Thanks, Princess Cornelia" said Zero, all amusement and humour gone for his tone " please come in" guided her into the next room, where the chair and the table was waiting for them.

Zero move behind one of the chairs and moved it, so he appears like he was offering a seat to Cornelia, that did made her raise an eyebrow, those were court manners, this Zero had a brittannian noble education and that did made her be, even more suspicious of the person in front of her.

She graciously accepted and soon she found herself sit in front of Zero, who took seat in the other side of the table, neither of them repair in the protest and pained groans of the beaten up soldiers.

Cornelia just thought that they need more training; Lelouch on the other hand, smiled sheepishly under his mask, he feared that he has overdone it, he didn't expect to be such dangerous in hand to hand combat, still, he knew that any opponent with half the experience will soon see the flaw of his technique and develop countermeasures to it.

"As I promised my Lady" said Zero and Cornelia hide a quick blush under a scowl " please ask anything you want, and I will answer the best I could".

"Who are you Zero?" ask Cornelia, with her hands over her cane, ready to shoot or unsheathe the blade hidden in the cane, at the first wrong move of Zero.

"My identity is non important" dismissed Zero the question like it was nothing of relevance " and is not the question you really want to ask my dear Princess".

"Are they alive?" ask Cornelia, and even with all her training, in her tone, slipped a note of hope.

Zero did not answer, and put his right hand over his mask, as if he was pondering the question, Cornelia scowl deepened, and was about to lash her anger at the masked man, when he talked.

"Yes, they are, both are alive and safe" answered Zero.

Cornelia shoulders feel, and had to suppress a sob on her throat, she almost broke in tears for the happy news, Euphy will be delighted to listen the news, but there was something in the back of he mind, that bugged him.

"But then..." she tried to find a hole in the words of the masked man; he will not use her siblings as shield against her.

"Why did not they reveal themselves?" ask Zero before she could end, and she nodded to the question, she already had some theories but nothing of substance to test them.

"Princess Cornelia, despite what you could believe, I assure you what I about to tell you, is the truth" all mockery and fun was out of the tone of Zero and Cornelia stiffened under that voice, it was very similar to the one father has when he was pissed of or about to kill a poor sap in his way.

"Lelouch and Nunnaly, were defective merchandise in the eyes of the emperor" started Zero and had to raise a hand to stop Cornelia from interrupt as he listened her surprised and disbelieving gasp.

"Princess Cornelia, please, I know for certain you are not that naive; that you are perfectly conscious about what would happen if you ever retire your protection over Princess Euphemia".

Cornelia flinched, she knew it perfectly well, with Euphy not under her protection, there was no doubt that she will be used as political hostage, much like Lelouch and Nunnaly were used, not to mention, her worst fear was how the emperor would use Euphy as bait for a political marriage, without a second thought.

"When their mother was killed, and Nunnaly was crippled for life, Lelouch challenged his own father in the court" continued Zero his tale " unfortunately for the poor boy, his father just dismissed the assassination like it was nothing, something that enraged Lelouch and at the end, made the Emperor angry at him".

"After beating him to an inch of his life, he tossed him out of the court, sending him and Nunnaly to Japan as nothing more than sacrifices" said Zero, telling her something quite the opposite from the official reports that she had from that day.

"Wait a second" snapped Cornelia, just at the moment Dalton and Guilford entered the room, both glaring at the men on the floor and at the pale Cornelia with a mix of emotions in their features.

"That was not how it happened" denied Cornelia " Lelouch did appear on the court, but father dismissed him, and he left in tears, nothing more".

"Princess Cornelia, Lelouch was beaten that day, so hard that it was needed surgery to readjust his left shoulder, I could show you the medical report, buried so deep into the OSI archives that I needed a year and you can not imagine how much effort, to put my hands on it".

"Lord Dalton, Lord Guilford, welcome" turn his masked face to both men, standing in attention behind their Princess, Lelouch could admire such devotion " take a seat if you please, and by all means, ask when you believe it is needed".

Both men look at their princess, who nodded slightly, they were ready to fight the man, at a gesture notice, but for the moment, she was getting the answers she wanted, not liking the implications, but the truth was what she wanted, no matter how grim it was.

"They were hosted in the Kururugi shrine, and despite the rough beginning, Lelouch and Nunnaly were happy in that beautiful and forestry surrounded temple" Lelouch lean over the chair, his voice was neuter, and he was trying to hide his emotions, barely achieving that for the moment.

"The Japanese people were good to him, mind you, that Lelouch was still recovering from a beating from his own father, that kind boy you could remember was no longer, Princess Cornelia" advertized Lelouch and he could see the pain inside the beautiful eyes of her half sister.

"_Pandora protect me, she did love us, what did I done?"_ thought Lelouch interrupting his tale for a second, as he forgot himself in his own memories for a little.

"And when he; mostly thanks to Nunnaly; recover part of his lost humanity, Brittannia attack Japan" continued Zero his tale.

"I don't really need to told you what happen in that battle scenario, you all were there in some manner, but I will teld you, is how Lelouch saw it" explained Zero, and his audience listened more intently.

" As soldiers you are accustomed to battle, violence is part of your life" nodded Zero " however, Lelouch was nothing but a poor ten years old mentally scarred child with a weak body, carrying his cripple and blind sister, in the middle of a warzone; the first warzone where the Knigthmare frames were deployed".

Cornelia contained her breath for a second, just imaging the situation, Dalton frown deepened, it was Guilford the only one that did not manifest emotions, but if his hands were clenched in fists.

Zero sighed and continued with his tale.

"For the children, those battle titans were the scariest things they had never seen, specially when the echoes of their bullets, thunders all over you, when the explosion forms the bombs and the exploding tanks where all the sounds you could ear".

"Soldiers of both bands commit a lot of atrocities, like all soldiers has done in wars, since the beginning of human kind, but this time, a ten years old child, had to witness them, had to survive, scrap food, shelter, water, whatever is needed so his sister could live another day".

No one dared to mutter a world, paling at the implications of the words of Zero; they could be soldiers, and be part of those same atrocities Zero was suggesting, but this was not an anonymous person, this was the tale of how a Prince of Brittannia had to survive a battlefield; and that hit too close to home to be comfortable.

"Those months were an inferno for the siblings, from time to time, they received help from unknown people, all of them Japanese, as they were sharing hardships with the conquered people".

"But why, why did not look out for Brittannian help?" asked Dalton " any unit out there know that the Prince must be found and brought back to Pendragon".

"Lord Dalton" replied Zero with a sad chuckle " why did the invasion even begun?".

"Excuse me?".

"The invasion begun during the second Pacific war, and at the beginning it was nothing but another battlefront, in order to gain control over the Pacific, against the Federation of China" explained Lelouch.

"However, it soon became a complete massacre, specially when the knightmares were deployed and when it was made public knowledge of how the Japanese had killed the Imperial siblings, making all the forces of the field desire vengeance" remarked Lelouch.

"But was is truly interesting, is how Brittannia gained the absolute control over the Sakuradite mines, with this resource, Brittannia would soar in Knightmare research".

"The second Pacific war and the Siblings were nothing but sacrifices" lashed Zeros voice like a whip, making all of them suppress a flinch.

"With the death of an Imperial heir in Japan, Brittannia would have free pass to do as he pleased with the country, in vengeance for the disappearance of the royalty" Zero chuckled with a lot of dark humor " how convenient, the perfect excuse to gain two vital advantages over the Federation".

"Sakuradite and Area Eleven" said Cornelia following the explanations of Zero, she has to admit, it does have a lot of sense, the death of the siblings has been used as propaganda during the invasion and after, to justify the actions of the army and the invasion itself.

"For what I can recall, Lelouch feared more his Brittannian kinsmen that had bombarded him; twice by the way; than the Japanese, people that was enduring he same hardships as him and Nunnaly" shrugged Lelouch under the suit and mask.

Lelouch momentarily recalled how hard those months were; there was time where he feared they were not gonna make it, hunger, dirt water, cold, all of those piled one after another; hard times indeed. Fortunately Milly found them, he owned the Ashford more than he could ever pay them, they were the ones that promoted Marianne, and they were the ones that allow him to live, teaching him, giving him shelter, food, an environment on where Nunnaly can grow up comfortably.

"When the Japanese surrended, they disappear along the mass of refugees; it was not long after that, that I found both and take them under my protection, after all, I am another sacrifice of Brittannia".

For a long time, nobody actually made a sound.

One could argue, that there is no actual reasons to actually believe anything of the tale of Zero, yet it had the painful ring of truth.

When someone spokes about experiences of the past, specially if those same experiences had cause him harm; be it mental or physical; its impossible to actually hide all the emotions related to those experiences. Lelouch had the advantage of the helmet, the mask that cover his face from the world, but even with the voice disruptor, the emotions tends to filter through it, specially now that he was a Campione, a being that thrives in emotions.

"Lelouch fears Brittannia and hates it with a passion" simply shook his head " and its hard to blame him, after all, he was abandon by his father into a hostile land, and then bombarded by the same people that should have supposedly protected him".

"She hates us now" sighed Cornelia, and a lot of pain went of her chest in that sight, now that part of the truth was out, she could understand why Lelouch hide, but that was no matter, she will find them and put them under her protection.

"Well, no" said Zero and Cornelia raised an eyebrow, there was a glint of hope in the eye of the woman, and Zero saw it behind the glass of his mask.

"Lelouch hates Brittannia" explained Zero " he hates the corruption that seems to fester every single layer of the Empire, he hates the Area systems, he hates the nobility, he hates the ideals and morals of the Emperor, and please do not never told him I said this, but I fear that he hates himself too".

"What?, why?" asked Cornelia, who despite being a soldier to the bone, was the sister of the siblings, and in the past, she loved them deeply.

"Because what he did to ensure his sisters survival" sighed Zero.

"My dear audience, how do yo think he survived in the middle of a war zone?, without any resources, unarmed, untrained, and carrying a cripple and blind six years old girl, dressed barely in rags, slim to the point of sickness".

That was a rhetoric question, he only wants the audience to picture the scene.

They were soldiers, they have seen worst, hands down on that matter, but at the same time, what they have done and see, was done over the enemy, over the anonymous persons or things, what they say was nothing but collateral damage. What they were seeing in their minds, was the children of the woman all of them respected; and in Cornelias case idolized; suffering the causes of a war, a war done in their name.

It was a disturbing picture, to say the least.

"Damn it" resumed it Dalton, with a deeper frown.

"He had to do several difficult things to survive, to keep her sister safe an as healthy as he could, fortunately, I found them before Lelouch reached his limit".

In truth, he was changing Zero for Ruben and Milly, but the emotions and the events, were the same; those were the times, that marked him most, when he has digging in his darker side to protect Nunnaly.

He owned Suzaku that at last; the help the Japanese boy give them during those times, until the war set them apart; was the only reason why they made it alive. Despite the pain that both inflicted on each other, it was time for those wounds to disappear. He was Campione, he was God Slayer, he was Zero, and he will be victorious.

Consulting the clock in a corner of his mask, Lelouch noticed that it was a little late, he will have to hurry, if he wanted to get in time for dinner.

"Now, my dear Princess, General, Lord" chuckled Lelouch and he rose from the chair, before doing a reverence and with a few words and a little of his tech magic, made it look like he has disappeared in thin air, with a flap of his purple and long cape.

He has pick up a page from Rolos book, and just ordered to them to stand still, until he was left and do not remember how he has abandon the room. Although he left some disks, as proof of all he has told them, at some tips that would give Cornelia in the right direction.

In appearance, he has just disappear on their noses.

"Now wait a..." started Cornelia before blinking and noticing that he was talking to an empty space.

Dalton and Guilford, who were on the move too, reacted with the same surprise at the absence of Zero, the mas has just...vanish in thin air.

"How on earth has he managed to do that?" ask Dalton, looking for any possible traps or secret passages.

"Attention all units, target is gone, anyone has him on visual?" ask Guilford to the forces surrounding the spot.

"Negative sir" replied all of them " he just disappeared from our sensors, like he was never there".

"Damn it!" cursed Cornelia, yet she controlled herself, Zero has give something she didn't have before.

Hope.

The siblings were alive.

"Zero has left us a final gift" announced Guilford with the disk in his hands " what should we done with this Princess?".

Cornelia trusted completely the bespectacled knight, if she ordered him to run to hell back and forth, he would have no problems in doing it, so she just thought about all what Zero told them, and discover that she should have asked a lot more questions, but the tale of the siblings has distracted her too much.

"Keep them, and bring them to Loyd when we get in the base" ordered Cornelia " we will have another shoot at Zero soon, this has not ended, not by far" fiercely announced Cornelia, and Dalton smiled.

The hunt has just begun.

Saitama Ghetto/Tunnels

Lelouch walked with haste on the underground tunnels of the ghetto, he was in a hurry, he wanted to get in time for dinner with Nunnaly, and the drive from Saitama to Ashford Academy will take a bit, even in the low traffic of the evening around the academy, Rivalz would have to step it a little in order to make it in time. He had complete confidence in his friend skills as driver, if it wasn't for the fact that Rivalz was back in his teenager body, Lelouch was sure, he could be one of the best OSI agents one could find in all the Empire. Although he had some several doubts at first; not very sure to how will his dearest friends react to his story and his sins; they did not hate him, instead they hug him with all the strength they could, happy to have their friend back.

And as a second benefit, they were survivors of the Empire of Schneizel, so they keep their skills and deep hate for that tyrannical rule, not so different from what was actually happening in Brittannia, and a mental note; Lelouch thought about having a conference with Schneizel at some point of the future.

He has tried to expand his domains into the EU systems, the net over the place was the most chaotic and diverse chaos he had ever saw, how in earth has they manage to get something done in such bureaucratic nightmare was something that amazed him. If he could get a hold into the EU net, he could actually see the real state of the war, the truth that the Brittannia propaganda wanted to hide.

As soon as he reclaimed the throne, in the previous time line, he discovered how thin did the lines of Brittannia stretch, and how dangerously close to the breaking point they were, he called back almost all forces back to Pendragon, for the inevitable conflict with Schneizel and the rest of the world.

Lelouch has to admit, that it did bug him for a while, how in sanity name, did the Black Kings just trusted all their forces to Schneizel?, not a day ago, they had been at his throat and suddenly they just believe all the bullshit about the geass, from the very mouth of the freaking enemy commander?.

Lelouch knew the world was crazy, but that crazy?, to actually, suddenly, trust more your worst enemy with a fantasy story, than the same man that has lead you through all kind of miracles?; it was like Schneizel had his own geass. But that was impossible; Lelouch checked for it, just in case his deceased father implanted a memory into Schneizel if the Ragnarok connection went haywire; Lelouch would have done it without a second thought.

As his new favorite pastime, Lelouch actually review more of the actions of the past, those that did mark him in some manner; he did it as some kind of private penitence for all the misgivings and harm he has done in the past, to those close to him. However, he has to admit, that the world did seem to conspire to actually twist each one of his plans into disarray, and with a humorous thought, he noticed how curious it was, that every time that he was convinced that each tasks at hand were complete, suddenly and without any kind of logic; everything went to hell. He took mental note of erase that line from his vocabulary, it was jinxed, it was unbelievable, but it was correct, that single phrase seems to be channel of a lot of very shocking episodes of his life.

And speaking about shocking, when he reached the place where the limo was, he found Rivalz amicably chatting with a tall and strong built man.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, a little surprised for the scene.

First of all, Rivalz has a black eye and the man he was chatting with, had a unique resemblance to Magnus, another, more experienced and powerful Campione like Lelouch; the one that granted him the blessing of the [Jotunblut] that compensate his lesser resistance, in comparison with his fellow Campiones of other universes and times.

Confident in his own powers, in case something went south, and more than a little curious about who this stranger was, Lelouch walked into the scene.

Rivalz was the one that noticed him first, waving him lazily as salute and moving to the driver seat, he too wanted to be at home as soon as possible. Somehow Lelouch suspected that Rivalz wanted to be at home soon, to inform his devil of a wife of the latest gossip and thoughts of Lelouch about, Lelouchs so called harem. The violet eyed Campione was conscious that his father had 108 consorts, but somehow he seriously doubted he has bed all of them more than once; except the few that had managed to impress him, namely, the ones that give him children, the rest where nothing more than background noise for what the Emperor cared.

Lelouch was not interested in such a massive harem, they were not Court ladies, those were nothing more than a waste of time for the Emeperor, none pays them attention, except to the mothers of the Princes and Princesses.

On Lelouch case; despite how confused he still was in the matter; there will not be such an absurd number of women, so far, there was only two, the two most important women in their life, leaving apart Nunnaly of course. His sister, will always be important in his heart, he did all for her in the past, for her dream even betray her at the end.

When Lelouch reach the car; Rivalz has already started the engine of the long car; he found himself staring behind the glass of Zero mask, at a carbon copy of Magnus, but dress like a Brittannian military and not as tall and the gigantic viking that Lelouch meet in C world.

"Greetings, lad" smiled the tall man and Lelouch had no doubt of his identity " how have you been, since mother kick you out of C world?".

"Magnus?" blinked Lelouch behind his mask glass " but, how is it possible?, you were with Pandora in C world, keeping the old conscious at bay".

"At the beginning, yes" answered Magnus, taking place inside of the limousine, soon followed by Lelouch.

Magnus assaulted the mini bar, and keep the window of the chauffeur opened, so Rivalz could listen and be part of the conversation, the Nordmanni Campione knew how Rivalz was one of the few that really know how powerful Lelouch really was.

"But she though that you could need an extra hand down there" shrugged Magnus serving himself a can of imported beer "so I build myself a body, and after signing a contract with an old double letter, I was throw into this word".

The car moved into one of the tunnels, soon reaching the part on where it could exit and join the traffic, at this hour, almost all the workers where moving back to their homes, so the traffic was a little crowed; they joined the traffic and Rivalz pick the quickest route to Ashford Academy.

"You sighed a contract?" ask Lelouch, more than curious and surprised for the presence of Magnus in the world; still, Lelouch was already introducing new variables in his strategies, now that there was another Campione in the world.

"Aye" shrugged again Magnus " I found and beat the shit out of the soul of M.M, one of the first double letters of the Order, and in exchange for do not tear his soul apart and scatter it, into the C world, he gave me a Geass".

"But you are a Campione like me, Magnus" pointed out Lelouch.

"Nay, not exactly" shook his head Magnus " I'm no longer a Campione in this world, that would be too much power in a world that is no longer able to endure our presence".

"Then, what are you now?".

"I create a body with my [Jotunblut], physically speaking I near superhuman level" explained Magnus " human physical perfection, but neither I am capable of increase it more, neither I posses any divine power".

"And your Geass?" ask Lelouch, it was a pity that Magnus was not in his true Campione incarnation, but it doesn't really matter for Lelouch, he was a capable soldier and a trusted ally either way.

"Absolute healing" said Magnus with a smirk " apart from a very useful healing factor, I´m possibly the supreme physician".

"Useful, how does it work?" ask Lelouch taking another glass from the scotch he was drinking before, at some point he pondered how to convince Magnus to actually brew some mead for him.

"I need to perform a medical check, and once I have done it, I know the precise and exact health condition, including mental sickness" told Magnus to his little brother under Pandora, how works his own Geass " its specially useful when I was treating the military, they tend to bottle up all their traumas and demons, and as the times goes, it just destroys them, frankly, its kind of refreshing to be a doctor".

An irrational hope appeared in the heart of Lelouch, if what his brother was telling him was true, then Lelouch could hope for something that not even a Campione like him was able to concede. In a sense, having something that you can not concede was a humility exercise, something that keep you sane and human, preventing the usual god complex that several Campione had in the past. They were capable of slaying gods, in a way, they were existence superior to the gods, but at the same time, that arrogant way of thinking made them as dangerous as the heretic gods they hunted.

Lelouch didn't want to fall into that path, he did fall in a similar path the past, when he was nothing but an arrogant child, drown in his own power, the Geass of _Absolute obedience._

"When did you arrive?" ask Lelouch, establishing some kind of time line.

"Two or three years ago" said Magnus " I was in the old Norway Area, I fought against the Brittannian, and then I join them in that insult that they call the Honorary system, with my combat abilities and my Geass, I made a living in the medic corps".

"How come you are in Japan now?" Lelouch take a sip of his drink, enjoying the cold and strong taste of the drink.

"I am part of Princess Cornelia forces, Medical corps division, Honorary Brittannian Magnus Frostsson" presented himself Magnus.

"That's, kind of surprising actually" said Lelouch " you hide under the noses of the Brittannian and the Order".

"Well, they knew I exist" said Magnus "I kill a dozen of assassins and agents of the Order, when they tried to capture me and bring me to wherever they had their quarters this year".

"And they couldn't capture you, considering your weakened state?, that only spoke volumes of your skills Magnus" said Lelouch.

"I have a black eye that agrees with you" said Rivalz in a soft chuckle " and a couple of sore ribs".

"Sorry about that, lad" apologize Magnus.

"I hope there will be no problems in the future" smiled Lelouch.

"None boss" laughed Rivalz " all was a misunderstanding, we all own Magnus and Pandora a lot, his decision to take mortal flesh and join us in the trenches, only made him ok in my book".

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" raise his beer Magnus.

"Not that I am not happy to see you here Magnus" said Lelouch " but what could make Pandora think, that you would be more useful here and not in C world, helping her keping all in check?".

"At the beginning I would have agreed with you" nodded Magnus " however, the old and stupid conscious no longer exist, the turning back of the wheel of time, made them disappear too, now mother is very busy trying to tidy up the things a little, up there, and prevent your parents to do something stupid beforehand".

"Well, what can I say?, welcome to Japan Magnus" smiled Lelouch, real happy to have his new founded brother with him.

"Thanks, lad" smiled the tall man.

The trio chatted amicably for all the duration of the travel, until they reached the doors of the under tunnel, that connect Ashford Academy with the main roads of the Area.

Magnus commented how useful it was to slip past the noses of any vigilance and both, Lelouch and Rivalz nodded, it was indeed useful, long before they become resistance fighters, the pair of youngster had been using them to sneak past the vigilance of the Campus and allow Lelouch to gamble and won a fortune.

They reach the private parking and soon they were back into the building where Lelouch and Nunnaly lived. Lelouch wanted to see how will all his friends react to the presence of his fellow Campione in the flesh, it was going to be one of the most interesting dinners of his life.

Ashford Academy/Frame Factory

It has been two days since the Saitama Ghetto and the changes was already start to show.

What´s going to happen now in the Factory was a pivotal point for him, as Campione and as Zero.

This was a mayor divergence, no doubt of that.

First of all, the Six houses of Kyoto did not support Lelouch after the Narita battle and his little show in front of Kirihara, however, this time around, he has managed to convince Rakhasa herself to come into Area Eleven for a bet.

First time, Rakhasa come with a complete new set of frames, Burais, Ronins and the Guren, Kallen loved her machine and what kind of boyfriend will Lelouch be, if he didn't get her loved machine back as soon as possible?. In this case, he was going to leave his audience flabbergasted, he wanted his knights and Rakhasa to see that Zero was a bloody legend, a bloody icon and the symbol of an entire new game for all the world. And no better way to do it, with the same thing that seems to be the core of the faith and miracle of this era.

Science.

Lelouch was about to perform a scam so great, that he was sure Pandora will be laughing her ass of in C world, he was going to own science in their own terms, by showing them the most powerful tech, the world has seen in ages.

Magic.

Magnus and him had already prepared all the stage, the machines of the factory were oiled and the all the systems were green, now he stood in the middle of the assembly line, slowly but firmly grasping even the most delicate pieces of the system, under his absolute control. He needs to control it to the letter, otherwise something could go wrong and he will cause a lot of damage, not only to the factory but most possible, to the audience in the control room, that will be looking at the process.

Lelouch wanted to build a knightmare since the beginning, but he barely had any time, not even when he was the demon emperor, his regret and guilt was so big that he only wanted to reach the day of the Zero Requiem and end the charade for good.

But hidden within him, was the little desire of having a Knightmare of his own, even _Shinkiro;_ as great as that machine was; was not a machine that he could feel attuned to, or at last, not like Kallen was to _Guren_ or Suzaku to his _Lancelot. _Lelouch didn't know if it was by the influence of the _Authority_ inside of him, but he wanted to forge with his own hands, the perfect knightmare for him, a machine worthy of a Campione, a beast of the battlefield that harvest fear in the hearts of the enemy.

"Ready when you are, Zero" spoke the voice of Magnus in Lelouch helmet.

Lelouch turned to face the cabin where the audience was preparing for the little show he was about to display.

Kallen, C.C, Magnus, Rivalz, Milly, Ohgi, Tamaki, Inoue, Rakhasa and her team of scientist, Sayoko and Jeremiah.

So far, the core of the Black Knights with the addition of Rakhasa and her team.

"Activate the machinery, Magnus" ordered Lelouch and give a step ahead.

It does seems that he was going to fall six meters, but for the shock of the majority of the audience in the control room ;and the amusement of the few that knew the truth, about the real powers of Lelouch, suddenly; a pincer carrying the chest a Knightmare; pick him and raise him in the air.

Like a maestro in front of an orchestra, Lelouch raise his hands and start to organize, the complex and delicate assembly of a Knightmare frame.

Each movement of his hands and a piece of the puzzle fit in the perfect spot, from the feet of the machine, to the minuscule of the nails and screws that compose the frame of a six meters tall Knightmare.

It was almost like he was driving an orchestra into a masterpiece that only Lelouch seems to be able to listen, sparks being his strings, screwdrivers and soldering irons his wind instruments and hammers his percussionist. At an amazing precision and dexterity, a lot of separated pieces started to take form, still in the metallic colors of his base materials but slowly becoming more and more defined and styled. Lelouch just walk, royal and composed, in the middle of sparks showers and lethal metallic arms that attached circuits, metallic muscles and armor to the basic frame of the machine, indifferent to the dangers and always orchestrating the display.

Not a word was spoken in the control room, it was simply mind-blowing, how Zero was leaving even the best Knightmare builders in the world like amateurs, and he wasn't even trying, it appears like he was just playing a tune in front of an orchestra.

Lelouch walk and the machines build a pass with their own bodies, so he could move to the different parts of the factory without even the need to actually walk on the floor, he appeared like he was just air walking and the machines as his loyal vassals. Lelouch raise a hand and a dozen arms ignited their soldering irons, ready to act at the command of his master, with the other hand, a dozen pincers carried the first layer of armor.

Pausing for a second to build dramatic momentum, Lelouch smiled under his helmet and extended his hand, like a commander will do to order his troop to charge ahead.

And that was exactly what the machines did, obeying the command of their absolute master, armor plaques fitting on their spots at molecular level, with the perfection that only machines are capable, not a spot left, perfect integration of the first layer of armor of the Knightmare that will lead the [Black King] into battle.

It was like seeing a body being constructed instead of birthed, layers of solid and almost indestructible skeleton, strings of slim but powerful artificial muscles piling one over each other, circuits and cables as nerves, batteries and sakuradite as organs. The steed of the King was being created by his own master, in a strange ceremony of creation and blessing. The power of Lelouch start to slowly slip of him, fine trails of golden and black emanating from his body like smoke; not visible at the beginning, but as the work progress, Lelouch; lost in the trance of the forge; started to glow in black and gold.

The audience blinked, some of them know about the Geass, but this was a completely new shit to deal with, and they were already more than stunned for the display of skill and power, long before their boss actually start to glow. Lelouch didn't care, he was beyond mortal comprehend know, he was lost in the dance of creation, his power slipping into the frame; both Campione and _Authority_ synchronized fully, to bring the best of both into the perfect machine. It was glorious and awe inspiring, more than a factory, this was a forge of the old times, where the fire and the smith worked together in the art of creation, far from the artificial, industrial process that seems to have destroyed the artisan work.

A perfect mix of artisan and industrial work.

There was no words to actually describe it.

Lelouch frown and move his hands, it has to be perfect, nothing else was allowed, Mordred demanded it from inside of the _Authority_ in his soul, and the Campione agreed with him completely, with each hand wave, another piece fit inside the machine, making the frame more and more complete at each modification. Weapons, armour, systems, everything fit with each other, in a result bigger than the sum of his parts.

Slow but steady the powerful frame was taking form.

It was a huge machine, about twenty feet tall and broader than even the _Gloucester_ that Cornelias forces uses, however, it was more stylized than the aforementioned frames, with a remarkable knightly style, from the limbs to the chest and the helmet of the machine, it looks like a mechanic knight of the old tales, with cape included. Lelouch smiled under his mask, it was almost complete, it was only needed one last detail, one thing that no knight should be without.

After all, what kind of knight would be without his sword?.

But before that, it was time to give, the knight his colors.

With a finger gesture, the mechanic arms completed their task works, ending the soldering and leaving the metallic gray of the frame in the open, the building process has ended and the frame only needed to be baptized and armed with a weapon worthy of his power.

With a gesture, the assembly machines get off the standing frame and the sprays took their place, Lelouch was not a painter, that has been always a talent that Clovis had, but it matters little for this, the design was already uploaded into the computers, they will be far more precise than Lelouch will ever be.

Giving the command, the arms danced over the frame, covering him with layers of colors and protective painting.

Black, gold, white and red.

The frame was release from his supports and if he was a living being; despite his cockpit being open and without any control worth that name in the sight, only a throne of some kind; it knelt in front of Lelouch.

A pair of pincer carried and lock on his shoulder and back, a black and white cape with the symbol of the Black Knights, a symbol that all of them will soon adopt and love, as they were part of something bigger than themselves. The cape flutter in the back of the frame and the machine lower his hand, so Lelouch could step in it, and be carried to the cockpit of the Knightmare, he sat in the throne and the cockpit close, allowing the audience to see the head of the machine.

It was crafted as a helmet, with a short dragon wings raising at the sides of the head, it only reinforced the image of being a knight of old.

The eyes of the machine ignited in red, symbolizing the activation of all the system of the machine, that turn his head to the side and extend his hand; from the side of the assembly line, a ten feet casket of metal and gold, was carried by a bunch of metallic hands, the same that not a moment ago where fusing the pieces of the armor of the machine in front of the awed audience. The casket opened, revealing a broad sword; all the blade had a core of gold like metal and silver edges, in the middle of the guard, there was a strange circle, with a line in the middle, the grip ended in a jewel like connector.

Extending his hand the frame picked the handle of the sword and bring it in front of him, leaning the guard over his forehead for a second, the jewel of the grip extended and connected with a port in the right hand, humming audibly in the air. The strange circle in the guard, suddenly opened, revealing what could look like a demonic eye, with a thunderous crackle, all the sword became surrounded by a black and golden spiraling energy.

In the screens of the control room, a series of commands appeared.

_Clarent001 Active._

_HB systems successfully integrated. _

_Weapons on line_

_Core engine on line_

_All Systems Green._

_**Clarent on line.**_

The black and gold knight, lowered the sword, deactivating the HB system, and with a flourish swing, sheathed the sword in a scabbard, integrated in the side and the back of the frame.

Magnus chuckled and turn his face to Jeremiah.

"Did you taught him that?" raise an eyebrow Magnus.

"Lord Zero always had a knack for melodramatics" smiled Jeremiah, amused and impressed by the exhibition of his lord.

The frame walked near the control room and as he approached, Sayoko open one of the frontal windows of the room, she has already deducted what he was going to do, and despite her neutral expression, she was as stunned as the rest, she simply hid it better than the rest. The frame open his cockpit, showing a comfortably sat Zero, who raised for the throne and walked with elegance into the open hand of the machine, just at the edge of the open cockpit; once the masked man was on the surface of the hand, the machine raise it to the open window and let him enter into the control room.

_Clarent_ close his cockpit and walked by his own near the other frames; waiting in the west corner of the factory; kneeling at the side of the _Guren_ and deactivating himself, entering in a stand by mode, until the call of his master.

With an agile jump, Zero entered through the window of the control room, in front of the astonished audience, and with a reverence to a mouth agape Rakhasa and team, ask:

"I did promise a miracle in Knightframe engineering, didn't I?, Lady Rakhasa".

Discretely, Jeremiah, Kallen, C.C and Magnus collected their winnings from the poll that has formed before the show, Zero has managed to broke the Indian scientist with science, in the possibly, most awesome trick of magic ever performed. Rakhasa just stared at Zero in mute awe, before her pipe fall to the ground; the sound broke her astonishment.

"How?!" shouted Rakhasa, who has just witness how all human knowledge about physic, engineering and computers, has been toss out of the window and then torched with gasoline and extreme prejudice.

Like a magician, Lelouch wave his hand and the screens behind him, turn back to life, showing a complex and almost eternal series of numbers and schematics.

"I am that good, Lady Rakhasa" the amusement of Zero was more than clear in his distorted voice " I will gladly share part of my knowledge with you".

The Indian woman tried to smoke from her pipe as she massaged her head with still shocked expression, then, she noticed how her pipe was in the floor and loudly cursed in her own natal language, picking the pipe, and with relief, see that it was not broken from the fall.

"I...don't know how on earth has you done it" said the woman " I have just witness the impossible, how?, how can you command that machine?, what are those weapons?, how can you control the sakuradite energy to that degree?" shot one question after another.

Before he could answer, Magnus phone ringed and the man just raise an eyebrow, even with the time he has been living in this world, common things like mobile phones and the computers are almost a foreign concept for him.

He "died" and join Pandora in the _Boundary Between the Worlds_, around the year zero of the christian calendar, when Jesus was born in Judea; it was an era of magic, not science, he has done a remarkable work accustom to the modern world but still, he was a lot uncomfortable with machinery. Not to mention, he couldn't pilot a frame for his dear life, it was tremendously difficult for him, preferring to fight with the feet on the ground, Lelouch has tried to convince him to learn, but he was happy in the back, taking care of the wounded. This was Lelouch show, he was only a roadie; after all, this was Lelouch universe, not Magnus universe.

"Aye?" answered Magnus to the phone " yes he is, sure, give me a sec" Magnus turn his head to Zero.

"Code Fostbraethr, Zero" said Magnus.

"Oh" simply answered Zero " Lady Rakhasa, feel free to accommodate yourself and your team in this facility, I am sure you will love to check in the files of the main data base" said Zero with amusement in his tone " and I will gladly answer any questions you have later, but now, if you excuse me, this is a call, I can not miss".

"Yeah, thanks" absentmindedly replied Rakhasa, almost hypnotized by the stream of data of the screens.

Zero leave the woman be, he knows that she will have to be drag out of the lab, as soon as she open the data package, Lelouch has left to her.

From the sakuradite channels into the main frame of _Clarent_, to the HB schematics; HB standing for Hadron blades; she was going to love every single line of those files, neatly put into an easy folder, for her to find and read. Lelouch already have the frames, he needed for the Kawaguchi lake and the Narita battle; if the battle would be ever happen; he was forcing the hand of the Six houses of Kyoto a little, trying to keep as many soldiers alive as possible. He was conscious, about how he will have to battle the entire Brittannian army at some point, and burying Cornelias forces and half of the JLF will reduce the combat potential of Japan drastically, specially when the Emperor will throw his favorite lap dogs in their noses.

Lelouch has calculated, that in a few months, specially when he finally united Japan under one single banner, the Black Knights banner; the Knights of the Round will make their appearance in Japan.

From all of them, only Gino and Anya mattered to him; the rest would be acceptable casualties if its needed. Suzaku was a good friend of the aforementioned two, and it would be a pity to actually lost both of them, specially considering how Anya was cursed with the presence of Lelouch mother, Marianne, as a mental parasite of some sort.

Lelouch had already a dozen plans ready to exorcise his mother from Anyas mind, enough has suffered already the poor girl at the hands of Lelouch mother, that woman was totally out of her mind. Even if he loved her in the past, after what happened in the C world and the Sword of Akasha, he will have a firm hand if he had to put a metaphorical bullet in their heads again, however, in victory one should be gracious, and he will allow them a grace; if the worst comes true, and he had to hunt and destroy them in the C world.

Lelouch knows he could sound a little arrogant, however, it was not a surprise, he was a god among humans, trying to impose any kind of morals onto him was a futile exercise; Irrationality, with capital letter, was the trademark of the Campione.

Otherwise, how they hell did they managed to actually kill a god?.

Lelouch pick up the phone and exit the room, soon followed by his closest friends, except Sayoko, Rivalz and Milly, they will accommodate and show the place to the crew of Rakhasa, meanwhile the woman will be mostly glued to the screens and _Clarent._

Once Lelouch was out of the room, he double checked there was no camera or eyes looking at him, before he put his mask and black under mask off; answering to the phone with a smile.

"Hello Nunna, what can I do for my lovely sister?" said Lelouch to the phone, as the rest of the people behind him were chatting among themselves before they get to the main building and then depart on their respective business.

Jeremiah and Magnus had to return to the palace and rejoin Cornelia on her last attempt to eradicate any rebel faction in Area Eleven, so far she was doing a great job, something Lelouch encourages her to do.

Soon, only the JLF will remain as resistance group, the rest will be scatter and the Black Knights will pick up the scraps and reforge them into a real and efficient, military organization. He was essential using Nelly to clear out the different resistance groups, recruiting the survivors and beating the crap out of them, before they were inducted into the Black Knights. It was working amazingly fast, however, the Black Knights have not been officially debuted into society, something that was going to be corrected soon.

Kallen, and C.C on the other hand will be with Lelouch at the Academy; yesterday C.C was officially introduced to the rest of the school and how it can not be otherwise, she dragged him by the jacket neck and french kissed Lelouch in front of everybody. When she was inducted in the student council, Shirley was glaring daggers at her, Nina blinking like an owl with a red face, and Milly and Rivalz laughing their asses off at his expense, Kallen seems in the verge of trampling the woman like a stampede of rhinos.

In sum, a very funny episode of his normal life as everyday teenager. The green haired witch was as mischievous as Milly, not really a surprise both of them became friends very quickly, both love tease and cause as much havoc as they could.

"Nina, Milly and Shirley are going to travel to a sakuradite conference in Kawaguchi lake, and they ask if I could join them" inform the sweet voice of Nunnaly to Lelouch.

Lelouch knew this was going to be another big difference with the previous time line, a man called Kusakabe tried a bullshit of a hostage situation with the people of the Sakuradite Producing Countries Summit.

Lelouch had already planes for it, this time he was going to change the script of the play, for a better result; efficiency was his new motto for this rebellion, although he knew that there was something called being Too efficient. Hopely, he knew, that, if he started to stray from his path, his precious people will bring him back. Lelouch shudder to think what would happen if he became as worst as he was the first time, but with the power of the Campiones backing him this time.

"Sis, what do you want to do?" ask Lelouch.

He hated to keep Nunnaly in the dark; despite his supreme confident facade, he feared in the deeps of his heart, the reject of his sister, if she ever knew what he did in the past.

"I would love to go, I almost never get out, and thanks to the medicine that doctor friend of yours made, I am feeling better these days" said Nunnaly with hope in her voice.

"Then I see no reason why you could not go" smiled Lelouch " in fact, perhaps I could join you, in your little escapade, I had nothing better to do this weekend".

"Really?" Nunnaly sound surprised and hoped at the same time.

Lelouch had to hide a wince, questioning himself if he has been such a bad brother lately that Nunnaly replied with surprise to any offer of expending some time with her. Mentally, Lelouch review all the past days, painfully noticing how little time he has expended with her, being Zero was a time consuming job, not to mention, putting in shape all the Black Knights, in order to he grandiose debut of the Kawaguchi lake.

"Really" assured him, and he did pretend to honor that promise, he will kill two birds, with one stone, he will pass time with her and at the same time, put himself in the middle of the action, without needing to resource to under handed methods.

"I look forward to it" Lelouch could practically see the smile in her sister face " will you be at home to dinner tonight?" ask with hope in her voice.

"Of course" said Lelouch, and in fact, he will be in time.

Now that he has won the bet with Rakhasa; and almost guarantee her services for life; and how has he already made preparations, just in case anything went south; he had his agenda free of compromises, and expending time with Nunnaly would be a great thing.

Viceroy Palace

Lancelot Bay

"Euphy..." mussed Suzaku, as the princess has already dragged him into a corner and huge him for his dear life.

They hadn't kissed in the lips yet, however, it was clear that they were in love, and only the dread of the consequences of their acts was preventing them to go all the way to home run, not to mention Suzaku has a lot of issues to deal with.

"Just...let me be okay" whispered Euphemia.

Suzaku hugged her back, and slowly start to comb her hair and massage her back in circles.

Suzaku felt a little like a stress toy, and to be completely honest with himself, for a couple of days, he almost felt like he was some sort of whim of the princess, after all, he was nothing but a number, an honorary eleven with few rights. But for all the week or so, they had been dating; or at last, that was he liked to think about what´s transpiring between the two of them; he was convinced ; in a miraculous sort of way; that the princess and he had really felt in love with each other.

Suzaku, or at last the most rational and logic part of him, had to admit that this was something directly picked up from a romance novel, the peasant and the princess or viceversa, it matters not; the real question here, was how the Third Princess of the Empire has felt in love with a lowly number. Both Suzaku and Euphemia knew that Cornelia was going to neuter him with a rusty knife, as soon as she discovers the little escapades of Euphemia into the _Lancelot _hangar, and more concretely, into the arms of her lover.

Suzaku was not one that frets over death in the battlefield, but as the old says goes, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; and Cornelia was way overprotective about Euphemia; the Japanese youngster feared Cornelia more than any demons form hell. However, the Japanese man, had to admit that being in the arms of Euphemia was totally worth it, they had clicked almost immediately, specially during their first meet, when she literally felt on him, when she was trying to run from her escorts.

Suzaku has to admit it; that has been quite the date, and for the first time in a long time, he has enjoyed the good things of life, even if he has been just released from practically a death sentence. Suzaku knew that he owned Zero a big one, although he feared the man in the mask, his mere presence made his skin crawl; much likely when he sensei killer intent; he has never meet someone like him. If he could be called human, Suzaku was not one that put too much faith into the supernatural, although Japan has always been a place of high spirituality, the invasion soon turn sour all faith in the gods of the Japanese people.

Still, Suzakus instincts; honed after years of martial arts and the hardships that he inflicted upon himself as payment for the assassination of his own father; was telling him that Zero was dangerous, tremendously dangerous. And at the same time, his presence was not one of an enemy, that dichotomy unnerved Suzaku, who didn't know what to think anymore, enough crazy was his life already; between his affair with the pink haired woman in his arms, his responsibilities as the _Lancelot _pilot, his status as number of the Brittannian Empire.

It was kind of surprising, how he has not gone nuts already, such a miracle was in part thanks to Euphemia, Suzaku may not be conscious of it, but the love of the woman prevent him for doing something stupid, like seeking death in combat.

"Ey" called him to her, as she nuzzled into his strong chest, she rose her eyes and look at him "I...".

Suzaku wanted to say it, he really wanted to say it, but there was a dozen of powerful motives for keeping his mouth shut.

He was not the only one, the love and affection in her eyes was more than clear, yet; and much like Suzaku was shutting it; she could bring herself to actually told him the three words that both wanted to say to each other. In an awkward but warm silence; as the presence of the other was more than enough for keeping them warm and comfortable; they just stared at the other, with gilt and desire in their eyes.

Neither of them know what possessed them in that moment, but they blink, and in a second, they were kissing each other like they were no tomorrow. They just don't ask, they didn't even dare to think about what the hell was happened, instead they simply enjoy the taste of the lips of their loved one, lips parted, lips meet again, tongues slowly and awkwardly asked for entrance before they twirled in sensual dance of recognition and love.

The universe didn't matter anymore, they were happy and the world could go to hell during the next five minutes for what they care.

Ashford Academy/Gardens

Lelouch was glowing, as his _Authority _just give those puppy lovers, the push they just needed.

However, it has give him a migraine, he has to force his powers, not only for the distance, but for the reason that he had to twist the rules a little for the stunt he has just pull out of his hat. Lelouch mussed a little about becoming a magician, trying to bury the headache he was suffering right now, after all, he could to tricks that no parlor magician could ever do in their entire lives. Taking control of both for a second, in the middle of the Viceroy palace has taken a toll on him; machines are way easier, it could have something to do with the fact that machines had no soul.

Well, most of the machines, _Clarent _surely had a soul of his own, embedded into the core of the frame when he forged; not build, not construct but forged in the fires of his own power; the machine. In the same factory, that created the _Ganymede_ in the past, revolutionizing the Knightmare industry, the frame that was the frame of Lelouch mother, Marianne the Flash, and the one that carried her to victory, after victory in the Brittannian army. Lelouch couldn't but think about how fine irony, did the fate fancy himself; what gave birth to one of the most feared machines of its generation, now has served to create a machine.

No, not a machine, Lelouch sense how his _Authority, _how Mordred himself corrected him, _Clarent _ was not a piece of metal, animated by the cold power of the science, the Knightmare was way more than that, _Clarent _was now something akin to a [Divine Beast].

The stunning revelation shocked Lelouch for a second, as he blinked a pair of times; even his migraine was forgotten in the light of what Mordred was revealing to Lelouch. Lelouch know that he was not the most capable or knowledgeable of the Campione, he was the second or third Campione in this universe, and the previous were defective things, as they were not products of the blessing of Pandora.

In fact, not even him was a perfect Campione, this world deities and _Authorities_ had been long diluted into the C world, transformed into Geass and other monstrosities. Lelouch thought a moment about what Magnus has informed him, it was one of the reasons why the fellow brother Campione of Lelouch has travel to the mortal realm. Pandora did what she could, but she was not in her universe, and the ritual, the blessing that gives birth to all Campiones has to be twisted to accommodate the already more than wounded soul of Lelouch.

Pandora could grant him power, his well earned _Authority._

But only if the diluted gods of the C world answer the call; one god answered in that moment of necessity, the power and legacy of Mordred, the black knight of Arturian legend, found in Lelouch a fellow soul, a good soul, twisted by the circumstances of his life into a Demon Emperor.

Different, yet so similar that it was terrific to contemplate, how the history seems to repeat itself.

Lelouch understood that even with that power, his human body would not be able to control, much less, harness it; and Pandora could not bring him the usual bless of her.

Reinforced body, bones stronger than steel, the instincts of a wild beast, astonishing magical reserves, the usual package, that transform a mortal, into a being more akin to a god.

That's were Magnus intervened.

Much to his shame, Lelouch admitted that he has not given too much thought to his secondary and relatively minor _Authority_ [Jotunblut], when it was precisely that same _Authority_ the one that give him a new body. Lelouch recognized, that in essence, [Jotunblut] was more than a worthy substitute of the physical enhances that the usual bless of Pandora grants.

Physical human perfection, with the addition of even increase more, by infusing power on the body from the magical reserves of Lelouch, already humongous, as soon as the new body was crafted by Magnus.

Lelouch raise from his sat in the garden bench, he wanted a second of solitude to deal with a dozen of operations online, he just hated to lose his time playing broker in the stock market, but it was a safe and sound way to invest his enormous fortune, without actually having to resort to any supernatural trick.

Of course, he had more than enough confidential info, to know where and when invest, actions that bring him fortunes, more than he could actually spend in a lifetime, however, founding his rebellion, and this time with a lot of equipment that would made half of the military forces of the world give a very sour look at their logistics divisions. And as he was checking the good being of his family and loved ones, he just casually stumbled upon the puppy love scene on the security cameras of the palace; with a chuckle he waited for it, and after the first five minutes, just screamed on his mind about those idiots' indecisiveness.

Taking things on his own hands, and earning a nasty migraine in the process, he took control of those two and helped them to kiss already and stop beating the bush around. Lelouch released them, with a thought about how it was bloody time, and how he didn't have time to deal with their conservative minds and all of that foolishness. He really wanted to save all the people he could, enough blood had already in his hands to be dammed to hell twice, but he was not an idiot, blood was going to be spill, rivers of it; specially when his crazy parents, could get a hold of what he was doing.

Lelouch always found humorous how he was taking all that planning of them, all that crazy as hell, dream of killing the gods and live a world of truth, and transforming into a completely different world. Lelouch had nothing against lies, they were incredible useful most days, mind you, that he was a compulsive liar half of his life, and only at the end of the first one, did he realize how much has he screwed up. In a relaxed pace, the violet eyed Campione moved into the main building, he was sure that he has seen a snack machine somewhere near the stairs; all that activity left him starving, Magnus; his now personal physician; has already warned about how much food he will have to take.

His brain worked in an accelerated rate, he could give a run for their money to all the supercomputers of the world at the same time; but such activity demanded nutrition, his body wanted sustenance, that's why he was eating so much lately. He reached his destiny and inserting a credit card into the machine, he tipped for a trio of chocolate bar, later he was going to devour an entire cow, with a dress of chicken and bathed in wine, beer, cafe and cacao.

Lelouch open the first envelope and lazily munched into the snack, as he was slowly chewing the cranky chocolate, suddenly his eyes widened and with a very uncharacteristic of him, shout of victory, he raised his fist in victory to the roof of the building.

"At last!" fiercely smiled, letting the snack fall to the ground.

During all this time, part of his mind, has been working on breaking the codification of highly protected Chinese servers, specially the ones that protected the Dragon Palace, the golden bar prison of Tianzi. With a predatory smile, one that would have made a dragon feel chills run down the spine, Leloch thought how all was about to get really interesting.

Ashford Academy/Infirmary

The academy infirmary was one of the best equipped medical centers that Magnus has seen in the two or three years he has been walking the earth of his brother Campione; so far, almost all has he saw, was Battlefield hospitals and the occasional military hospital where he had to put some of his worst patients.

Being a doctor was a completely new experience for him.

Magnus has been a lot of things in the past, and despite how his now lost _Authority_ [Golden Apples] did wonders on the people of his kingdom when he was alive, he has never been a healer, or at last, not a common one, he depended too much on magic and his powers as Campione. In a sense, he has to admit that he was doing mostly the same this time, but instead of an _Authority, _he put his faith on the Geass he rip of M.M; that, and all the knowledge he borrowed from the C world of the best medics the world has ever seen. Magnus was somehow content with his life; this Magnus Frostsson was a likeable fellow, it was created with a lot of the memories he had of the trusted_ hirdmen _he had when he was alive as a Campione in his own universe.

An entire new life was open for him but he was bound by the world he gave to his brother Lelouch; he will help him to the best of his abilities, it the least he could do for his little brother, the second one he had after the joined Pandora in the _Boundary between realms _or more know to this universe as the C world.

Magnus was patiently waiting for his next patient in the infirmary of the academy, he was enjoying a cold one; swiftly taken from the kitchen before the cooks of the Academy could notice the absence of the alcohol; as he was leaning over the window edge. Dress with civilian clothes, he was just a medic enjoying a moment of peace in the wonderful weather they were having that day. The day was clear, nothing like the good old blizzards of Norway and his kingdom in his universe, too much sun and clear skies has to be bad, it was too peaceful, but he will enjoy it for what it will last.

Magnus Odinsson the Campione could drown himself in wars and eternal conflict, but Magnus Frostsson was not someone like that, he was a healer and a soldier, with too much blood in his hands, and a pacifist at heart. A pacifist that could bend steel with his bare hands, but a pacifist nonetheless. He took a sip from his can, frowning from the taste, the sooner he could get his hands into a distillery the better, and somehow, he suspected Lelouch was as addicted to the mead, as he was; not really a surprise for Magnus.

He remembered how damaged Lelouch was, when Pandora and him founded in that torture dimension; for the boy could have been ages, and the suffering he had to pass through did a number on him. Magnus saw the expression he had when he tasted the mead for the first time; it was the same expression that a person about to die from thirst had when they found water. Magnus sighed and resign to the taste of the beer, it was the only one he could found in this Academy, it was a place for youngsters, none of them of adult age, so they could not drink alcohol; it was somehow amusing.

He was a man that has lived in ages, where the children are given mead and milk in equal measure, so they could grow to be proud and strong Nordmanni, however, in this era, all of that was unthinkable for the people of today. Magnus felt a little displaced sometime, but the constant traveling of Princess Cornelia was a very good thing to discover the different cultures and customs of this age.

The sound of the door of the infirmary open, and Magnus turn to face the persons that had entered.

Sayoko was pushing the chair of Nunnaly and talking to her in her usual polite and kind way.

Not half a week and almost all the members of the family of Lelouch has accepted and thanked him for the miracle, when Magnus has tried to explain them, that he was not the same Magnus they had in their memories and they should be thanking Pandora instead. Magnus has noticed how common has become to swear; in good way, asking for protection, bless or thanking her; in Pandoras name among the few that knew the truth. He had tried to dissuade them, but all has being in vain, humans will always surprise him.

Nunnaly turned her blind face at him, Magnus knew already the girl, but he could see the iron hide under the velvet of her appearance, she was going to be one hell of an Empress someday, so much he was sure.

"Greetings Lady Nunnaly, Sayoko" said Magnus leaving the cold one over the edge of the window.

Sayoko raise an eyebrow at the beer, but she remembered then who and what was the man in front of her, and simple shrugged, after what Magnus himself has told them about his powers, the alcohol was nothing for him. His Geass made almost impossible to actually drunk him under the table, even if he almost killed himself trying to prove that claim during a bet in one of the campaigns he took part, as part of the medical corps of Princess Cornelia.

"Hello" smiled Nunnaly " are you Mister Frostsson?, my brother told me that you are the best medic there is in Area Eleven".

"Aye, lass" laughed Magnus, pointing a stretcher to Sayoke where she could put Nunnaly for the medical check.

Sayoko nodded and carry the crippled girl, Magnus meanwhile look for a pair of latex gloves, once he found them in a drawer, he took and put them on.

Nunnaly was already laying in the stretcher, only her panties and bra as clothes, and gripping the hand of Sayoko, who was at her side, comforting the girl. Magnus recognized that despite all the recommendations, he was an unknown person to the girl and she could felt uneasiness around him, specially if she had practically to be nude in front of a stranger, medical reasons be dammed.

"Be at easy, lass" assured Magnus " this is not going to hurt you at all".

The hands of Magnus take the feet of Nunnaly, now that she was almost nude, he could see the scars and lacerations that the surgery and the bullets did on her when she was a child, even after all that time, such wounds were not fully healed and her, otherwise, pristine skin, was marrow by that crude markings. With a sigh, Magnus close his eyes and focus on his Geass, in a second he opened back his eyes, but this time the avian symbol of the Geass flared on them.

Sayoko has already accustomed to the power and appearance of the Geass, a power that did not hold a candle to the monstrous presence that Lelouch-sama was now, as a Campione. Still, she observed a bit curious how the man work, she had no doubt that the man mean well for Nunnaly-sama, specially after seeing in her memories how the man and his mother; the goddess Pandora; save him and all of them from the horrid future the C world had orchestrated.

Magnus moved the ankle of Nunnaly, it could not seem much, but for his Geass, it was a complete report of the body tissues of the poor girl, from the feet he pass to the legs, where the worst wounds were located. Limbs, chest and heart, he even made the charade of the stethoscope to made the girl feel less uncomfortable, not that Magnus really needed the apparatus, but he has found that people felt less wary of his diagnosis if the act like a proper medic of this era does. Magnus look at the legs of Nunnaly and grab the calf of the girl.

"Do you feel my hand, lass?" ask Magnus and Nunnaly shook her head in negation, increasingly nervous.

"It´s ok, Nunnaly" said Magnus in a soothing voice, that did calm the nerves of the girl "I am just testing how much sensitivity you had, you could felt your feet right?".

"Uh, yes" replied her a little surprised, it was a faint sensation, but she did felt the hands of the man on the soil of her feet.

"But from the ankles to the waist, you feel nothing" said Magnus, putting his own gown over the body of Nunnaly, covering her bare chest and legs.

Magnus knew that most of the females he has found, had a compulsion of feel increasingly nervous as they stood naked, specially the prudish Brittanniann; at last in public, what happens in the whorehouse, stays, get shoot and buried under a ton of salt, in the whorehouse; and the Japanese women.

As he suspected, being covered again by clothes quell part of the nerves of the girl, Magnus sat in a chair, positioning himself behind the head of the stretcher and applying and slow but continuous massage over the sides of the head of the girl.

"Oh, that is very nice, Mister Frostsson" said the girl at the soothing and relaxing massage of Magnus.

"Call me Magnus, lass" chuckled the man " there is no need of formalities".

"If you say so, Magnus" yawned the girl and blushed a little as the massage put her in a very nice and relaxing nap.

Five minutes later, Magnus noticed how the body of Nunnaly was already in REM phase, she would sleep for a couple of hours or if something disturb her sleep. As silent as always Sayoko stood at the side of her lady, she has never let her hand go, and she was looking at Magnus with a question in her otherwise indifferent but kind expression. Magnus rose from the chair and moved to the window, he took the beer and gulped down in one single drink, before crushing the can and toss it out the window with rage in his eyes.

Sayoko did say nothing, but she left him be, he has saw something in her Ladys body, something that has managed to anger a man like him, she almost felt sorry for the poor sod that is going to pay for that.

Magnus took a minute to calm himself before make some gestures to Sayoko and the door, the maid did not want to left her lady alone, but this could be important so she nodded and walked in silence to the door.

Once they both were outside, Magnus lean over the wall next to the infirmary door and sighed.

"Good news or bad news first, lass?" ask to Sayoko, who just stared at him in silence, before she replied back.

"Bad news" she asked steeling herself for the worst.

"Her legs are a complete nightmare, the muscles are torn and atrophied, the cartilage is a joke and don't even make me start with the muscles or the nerves" intoned the man with rage hidden behind his report "Odins beard, it´s a miracle she didn't have chronic pains for the death muscles in her calf, shin and back leg, but the worst is her blindness".

Sayoko already know how bad the poor girl was, her lady had suffered since she was crippled, kindheartedly smiling for her brother, even if she hated her own weakness.

"We already know, it the work of her own father" the venom in the voice of Sayoko betrayed her stoic facade " It disappeared when he died in the C world or so it seemed at the moment".

"Yggdrasil protect us, I suspected it" clenched his fist the man "I sensed the work of a Geass on her but it was so deeply buried in her subconscious that I would need a goddamned pile driver to take it out, she must have suffered deep mental trauma to confront the Geass on her own, by the Norns, the girl has an iron will" commented Magnus in a tone of respect.

"And the god news?" ask Sayoko with a smile, proud of her lady.

"I can cure both" simply state Magnus and Sayoko blinked, that was unexpected, however, she was learning that with the Campiones, nothing was impossible, only improbable.

"You can?" couldn't but ask the kunoichi maid, more than a little surprised.

"Aye" nodded the man " her legs are a nightmare but could be treated, I have only to ask if she wanted cybers or flesh legs and smuggle some things from the palace and the medical corps; her blindness on the other hand, look, lass, I know you loved these siblings as if they were yours but for the cure of her blindness, we will have to force Lelouch hand a little".

"Explain" the cold tone of Sayoko only cemented the respect Magnus had for the woman, Jeremiah has landed himself a nice woman.

"Lelouch Geass and _Authority_" stated Magnus sighing, he didn't like it too, but with this, he could cure two birds in one stone.

"I don't understand it, Lelouch-sama power was not a healing one, at last, not with humans" didn't see the point Sayoko.

"Lelouch authority could bring her memory back, from the time where she had already broke the Geass" explained Magnus " but the lad is terrified of the mere thought of what her sister would do if it happens".

Sayoko nodded grimly, she knew that as well, the rest of the awoken ones had tried to subtle and slowly tried to convince Lelouch of awakening his sister, that she would love him no matter what, but he didn't even wanted to ear about it.

"Campiones are terrible beings" Magnus cross his arms over his chest " we could be bless and curse in the same package, however, we are not devoid of the quintessence of the strength and weakness of mankind; the emotions that carry us further than any would dream, at the same time drags us down to the deepest pits of our personal hells".

Sayoko say nothing, remembering that the man in front of her was one of the gods or Campiones or whatever; there was not much a difference for her between them; that save Lelouch and as Lady C.C, he has walked the earth for a long time.

"If Nunnaly is not dancing with Lelouch in two weeks top, I ate her chair" announced Magnus with a tone that left no place for discussion " but for her blindness, Lelouch hold the cure for that, and not only for her, it will help the lad more than he would believe".

"Reassurance" Sayokos eyes widened following that line of thought.

" The doubts and gilt of Lelouch-sama will be greatly reduced" put her thoughts on words "if she is at his side, and not kept apart and in the dark, like she was in the first time, something that lead to the battle and betrayal on board the Damocles and the Zero Requiem".

"Aye, lass" smiled without humor Magnus " you nailed it".

"It´s a dangerous gamble" noted Sayoko.

"For their sakes?, worth it" shrugged Magnus "my brother need more help than he realizes, and I am not talking about power; he had it in spades; I am talking about his soul, that's the one that need attention, is time for him to bury his own demons".

Viceroy Palace/Strategic Room

Cornelia snarled at the image of Zero in the screen of her terminal, she hated the arrogant and cocky man with a passion, he has managed to fool them twice, and what is worst, she felt she own the man a lot, for telling her the truth about the siblings. Euphemia cried in happiness when she found it, and Cornelia had an entire OSI team trying to build a picture of how Lelouch or Nunnaly would be today, based on old photos, and spread around the city to look out for any teenager that could held a resemblance. At the present time, no success has been reported on that front.

On the other hand, Area Eleven, was slow but steady being clean from resistance groups and all kind of pesky terrorists, soon only the infamous JLF will remain as the last resistance group in the area, and so far she was far from impress. Only the Miracle Worker Todoh has gained her respect, after all, he was the man that achieve a damn victory over impossible conditions, against an army of Knightmares.

Tanks and infantry against Knightmares, and yet he pulled a victory out of nowhere.

She could respect that.

Cornelia frowned at the image of her screen, she really wanted to beat the shit out of Zero, but deep inside her, she had to admit that the man has surpassed them completely in Saitama. He held all the cards, and played them close to his chest, distracting and diverting the attention, Cornelia wanted to grab him by his damn cravat and toss him into a cell, where her best interrogators will make him talk. A headache started to appear in the corners of her head, she has been working non-stop for ten hours straight, reading reports and logistic inventories of the forces she actually had in Area Eleven.

Jeremiah has done a good job, she has to admit that the Margrave was a soldier to the core, one of the few true knights she has ever meet, it was a pity what happened to him in Aries Villa, his career could have ended there, but instead he swallowed the pill of the Pure Bloods and not only salvage his career but actually look out for Lulu and Nunna. Closing the picture on her screen, she changed it for one of the old times, when Nunna and Lulu were playing with Lady Marianne.

They were alive, that thought did put a soft smile in her face, however, the hide behind the screen, so none of the other soldiers working could see it; it will soften her at their eyes, and she had a reputation to uphold. She was the Goddess of Victory for her soldiers and the Witch of Brittannia for her enemies, it has taken her years to reach and conserve that reputation, one that helped her a lot, to keep Euphemia save and near her. Cornelia shuddered to think what would have done the Emperor with Euphemia, and a whisper in the back of her mind, suddenly questioned her, a question that send a shiver all over her spine, barely contained.

Would have the Emperor sacrifice Euphemia like he did with the siblings?.

She wanted to denied it, she really wanted to think that his father would not have sacrificed her in that way, but the proofs Zero has thrown on her lap where undeniable, the siblings were a sacrifice. In fact, all the evidence in the disk Zero has left, pointed out to the intervention of a Brittannian Black ops squad in Pendragon, in the exact same date when Marianne died, all the members of that squad were death or disappeared in the middle of the battlefields of Brittannia.

Cornelia picked up a strategic map and uploaded the data on her screen, a map that not only shows the position of the actual battle lines of Brittannia but, that showed in different colors how was the Brittannain Imperial army faring in those campaigns. She frowned at the most recent upload, all the lines were in a cautious yellow, except the ones that she has recently conquered and the sector of the EU, where her brother Schneizel was acting as commander of the military forces deployed there.

Cornelia sighed, the doubts Zero has planted on her mind were starting to affect her, why should she pay attention to the ramblings of a madman and a terrorist?. The same whisper in the back of her mind, was the one that replied her; she was paying attention because Zero was giving her proofs of what he claimed, it was not empty words or demagogy, all what he has told her was backed up by a lot of information, an info that she has triple checked and even if she had not entirely trusted the OSI agents with her, they had actually corroborated part of the information Zero has give to her.

Freely, she thought, he has given her what she and Euphy desired most; the life of the siblings.

And once again, her mind and heart were at conflict, mostly because how logical was that the siblings hated Brittannia deeply, and how it would only means that they will hate her and Euphy too. Zero has assured her, that neither Lulu nor Nunna hated them, only their father and the social Darwinism that seems to be the banner of the Empire on this last two decades; and Cornelia has to admit that she hated that same ideas too. That same ideologies, would end in the sacrifice of the siblings and if it were for her protection over her sister, Euphemia would be another victim of the greed of the nobles of Pendragon, with her own father on top of all of them. The sound of a glass hitting her desk made her raise her head from the map in the screen, to face a glass fill to brim with an orange liquid and a couple of white pills, she followed the glass to find one of her most capable soldiers looking at her.

For a couple of seconds, none of them said nothing, Cornelia look at Magnus, who just stared at her and rapped on the side of the glass, calling her attention to the medicines.

"I don't need it, Magnus" said Cornelia, she knew the almost miraculous skills of the man, that's why she brought him with her to any battle scenario her forces were deployed, but he was a little meddlesome sometimes.

"Orders of the Medic" shrugged the man " you need it, Princess" pointed Magnus to the pills.

"I´m fine" growled Cornelia with a glare to the military doctor.

Magnus shrug it off with the easiness of the practice, not the first time he almost had to chain the woman to the stretcher, she was as stubborn as Lelouch sometimes, specially when something bother hers.

"Nay, you are not" denied Magnus glaring back at her; Cornelia grunted and pick up the glass and the pills, Magnus will not leave her alone, until she did as he orders.

She has to recognize, Magnus was one of the best medics she has ever seen, but he sometimes abuses of his authority a little.

"Do not complain, your Highness" Magnus lean his back on the wall behind her desk, now that he was at the other side, she could see how he was carrying a plastic bag " is just a painkiller for your incoming headache, something for soothing your nerves, and a very healthy sport drink, orange flavored".

Cornelia wanted to hit him, she really wanted to hit him, but she just accepts the exact things she needed right now, drinking from the glass, she took the pills and swallow them with another sip from the orange flavored sport drink.

"Bad day, Princess?" ask Magnus as he took out of his bag a sandwich and offered it to Cornelia.

Cornelia blinked and just took the damn thing of his hands with a soft blush, she was so engrossed in the work that she has not eaten anything during the last ten hours or so, and she was starting to realize that she was hungry.

She chewed the sandwich like a starving wolf and answer between bites.

"This is a mess, goddammit, this is a complete and utter mess" she lean over her leather chair, privileges of the commanding officer.

"Usually, it is Princess" eyed the information on the screen Magnus, he has been deployed in some of those spots displayed in the map along her " aren't our lines a little too thin to be comfortable?" asked Magnus and a glare from Cornelia shut him up.

There were times to pull out the medical card, and times when one just shut the hell up.

Magnus knew very well, how the old saying went, Hell hath no fury...

"Zero was right, there is something going on here, and I hate not seeing it" said Cornelia finishing her sandwich and graciously accepting another from Magnus, who just pass her, her second sandwich without even saying a word. She was a Princess after all, and her temper was one that could give a run for her money to a volcano.

"I thought Area Eleven was going to be another rat nest cleaning" said Cornelia in loud voice, Magnus was a very good listener when he wanted, half of the forces under her command has already cried their hearts out to the Norwegian man, he understood better than anyone the scars the soldiers under her command have; he has parched most of them.

More than once, has she to consider if she should raise his salary, he was acting as a physiologist half the time, when they were sent to another campaign; and she was not an exception from that strong and calm Honorary Brittannian, was usually a very good listener and he had his feet on the ground, offering sensible advice whenever he was asked for it. Cornelia pointed out to a folder on her desk.

"But I was wrong, we have been sweeping out all this Area, and despite we have almost clear it, only the JLF remains as a plausible threat at this point" Cornelia eyed the disk of Zero "I feel that we were missing something".

"Princess, I am just a soldier" said Magnus and Cornelia snorted.

She chuckled humorlessly to that statement, Magnus was more than just a soldier, she has seen him training with the infantry and could recognize a good fighter when she saw one. He didn't like to show it off, but Magnus was a master of hand to hand combat, if he wanted, he could have become the next heavy-weight category world champion boxer. Although she had to admit, that she would never let such a resource like him go, even if she had to pull her rank and tie him to the infirmary of the G-1 he usually uses when she is deployed to the next battle scenario.

Half of the soldiers of her forces own the Norwegian their lives, be it for cures done in the middle of the battlefield or taking care of the wounded, those same battles left on both armies; for what she knew, Magnus was the only field surgeon with a one hundred percent of success in field surgery and cyber transplants. There was a legend about how he performed two surgeries at the same time that he was defending the field hospital from a surprise attack of a Kaibiles special ops unit from the Guatemala army, during the pacification of Area Six.

She somehow believed the rumors, Magnus seems one capable of pulling such stunts out of nowhere and then look out for a cold one, the love of the man for his distilled mead and beer was mind blowing.

"Magnus, please, just spare me your humble attitude" massaged Cornelia her head as she bit on the sandwich on her free hand " tell me; what do you see?" pointed out to the screen, before she introduced a disk in the computer and let the man, read the contents.

She took the chance to raise from the chair and actually went to the toilet, she has been like forever glued to that chair, and speaking of people glued to a chair, she noticed how absent was Euphemia, even when she had as much paperwork to deal with as her. After some time, a refreshed Cornelia enter back into the room, and blinked as she saw how there was only a quarter of the personnel on the room, her lips curved into a sad smile, they had took advantage of her absence, to actually get the hell out of here, nor that she was going to blame any of them, she hated this office work as much as any of them; but as Commanding Officer, it was his duty to surf through it.

That was the worst part of her work, in her opinion, an opinion that only get reinforced, when she dealt with all the idiocy and corruption of the government of Clovis, how the hell did her half brother allow such a thing to happen was out of her understanding. With a nostalgic smile, she thought about how Lady Marianne would have beat the crap out of Clovis and his sycophants, most probably with the blunt edge of a maul, in the hands of the _Ganymede._

Magnus was standing in front of the computer, and when he rose to head to saw her, intermediately give a step back and offer the chair for her to sit, Cornelia smiled the tall man, he was a complete gentleman in a moment, and a caveman the next, but that was part of his charm.

"So?" ask Cornelia once she was back in the damn chair, she was sure, it has the form of her body by now "what do you think?".

"Considering what I have read" said Magnus standing in position near the desk of Cornelia " I would say that some is trying to running some shady business".

"Magnus, please stop" raise a hand Cornelia " do not beat the bush around, just be honest, I will not punish you for anything you could say".

"As you wish, lass" sighed the man and straightened her posture.

"Zero is right" he said and Cornelia frowned.

"What?" ask the woman.

"Aye, Princess" said Magnus without a single doubt in his voice " everything that told you was in the disk; allow me" ask Magnus permission before giving a step ahead and bowing a little, start tapping into the keyboard, looking for what he needed.

Cornelia roll back her chair a little to give some space to the man, he was tall and broad enough to be capable of compete as a heavy-weight class boxer, when he bowed to reach the computer, Cornelia could appreciate how the muscles moved under his uniform and a little corner of her mind, start to do cat calls and wolf whistles. She blinked at that thoughts, but with a smile she remembered how has she ear about how the women of the regiment tried to convince him to pose for a calendar, as soon as the thing was out, it sold like pancakes; she could understand it perfectly.

"There..." pointed out Magnus to a couple of medical reports in the screen and Cornelia turn her attention to the screen.

"Magnus, I am not a medic, both are medical reports" said Cornelia, despite all her virtues, she had not medical knowledge, apart from the basic she received when she trained at the Pendragon Military Academy.

"Zero told you that Lelouch was beaten in the court, that he need surgery" explained Magnus pointing with his finger to one line of the report of the left " this is a surgery fill-in, about how they reconnected Lelouch shoulder plate back into place".

Cornelia winced, that should be painful, and potentially crippling, she cursed her father, Zero was right, she could recognize the watermark of the OSI all over the paper, however, she kept a skeptic attitude, all of this could be forged.

"And the other one was a field report of one of the many numbers field hospitals that appeared during the invasion" changed his pointing Magnus " this one spokes about a violet eyed boy with a damaged shoulder, who tried to stole some food when they were treating his wounds, before he run away carrying a little girl with dirty bandages in her legs".

"Goddammit!" cursed Cornelia under her breath clenching her fists.

Even if she tried to convince herself that it was a lie, part of her mind was picturing the scenario; she loves the siblings, the mere act of thought about them in such conditions, made her heart torn between anger and sadness.

"I don't know about the rest of the info, but at last in this, Zero did not lie to you" continued Magnus " although, I am skeptic about the veracity of the reports, even if they did appear as the real thing, something tells me that this is the truth, bitter as it is, lass".

"All of them be cursed. Zero and Father" replied Cornelia, torn between her emotions.

"A piece of advice Princess?, go talk it with Princess Euphemia" said Magnus, never letting the plastic bag go of his reach "she could help you to accept this, and somehow I believe she will like knowing more about the whereabouts of her favorite siblings".

With a side glance to the clock on the corner of the screen, Magnus just smirked.

"Go, find her, she would possibly be playing around in the _Lancelot _bay" smiled Magnus " tell her everything, she could bring a new light to all this madness, and you could use the breather from the work".

"Yes, I think, I would do that" nodded Cornelia " thanks for the advice, Magnus" said the Princess walking to the exit of the room.

"A pleasure, your Highness" smiled him back, and just moved into another direction, he has a lot of things to do in the medical bay after all. Now if he could just remember where the hell did he put his surgery bag and those cybers for lost legs.

Ashford Academy

Class Room.

Lelouch was taking notes in his notebook, from time to time, he liked to do things, the old way; he was already incredible dependent of tech, and sometimes, he felt like it was time to give a step back and just do things with his own hands. But that didn't stop him from keep an eye for all the bots he had uploaded over all the systems of Area Eleven, both Brittannian and Japanese, and from one of those bots, one that was programmed to emit and alert when a specific name was introduced in the database of the Academy.

More specifically, the moment that Suzaku Kururugi was uploaded as a new student into the rooster of the academy. Lelouch knew that the changes he has done to the results and the computers systems of Japan has change the schedule of how the things happened in the past, that hasn't prevented some events to take place; speaking of which, he was eager to have a little chat with Mao, the mind reader was one of the most valuable assets one could even think about, but his obsession with C.C was too much of a bother.

Suzaku was going to enter the Academy, only some days later than he did the previous time, and four days before the events that took place in Kawaguchi lake, something that was going to happen.

Lelouch wanted the Black Knights to have their great debut, and what better debut than saving both Brittannian and Japanese equally, that was a credo that he was hammering into the heads of every single Black Knight. If one of them, even thinks about using the Knights as an excuse to be an asshole or worst, bully Brittannians, he will beat him or her, to the inch of their lives, and put them into a hospital for six months or kill them on the spot.

Lelouch was not joking around with those orders, and he was made sure, that they were respected to the letter; he knows that indubitably, the leeches that plagued the resistance groups will see the Black Knights as another free pass into an easy life, lazing around and just shielding themselves behind the excuse of be resistance fighters. He has cut down those by the roots, he will not tolerate anything less than complete dedication to the cause of the Black Knights, and that cause was not only the liberation of Japan, but the destruction of the Brittannian way of life.

Lelouch had little patience for fools, he didn't have it in his previous life, much less now; when things could be better than he would ever dared to dream; if he had to kill and bathe in the blood of some sacrifices for it, so be it. However, he will be the one calling the sacrifices here, not the world, not the circumstances, he was Campione now, he was the Black King, and everyone submits to the King commands, so was told and so will be. Lelouch shook his head a little after that trail of thoughts, Mordred always manages to infiltrate in his minds, not really a surprise for the black haired Campione, Mordred was inside his _Authority,_ the one that was blessed upon him at the day when Pandora, Magnus and him, confronted the old and coward C world, turning back the _Wheel of Time._

He used part of his powers to send a text to the phones of Milly, Kallen, Rivalz and C.C, informing them of the arrival of the Knight of Zero, even if he didn't know it yet.

Lelouch has already discussed with them about who will be awakened and who will be keep in the darkness, there was some people that it will be better to keep them in the dark, enough suffering had them to deal with in the past, to made them remember it. Suzaku will not be among those exceptions, he was going to be awakened, just it was too soon for the Japanese boy to face the choices and regrets he had in the past, the Halcyon days will continue for him, or better said, for Euphemia, until the ASZ day will arrive and the world will tremble at his power.

And Lelouch wanted to made Suzaku squirm a little, after all, being throw into the clutches of Milly and her crazy antics was more than enough suffering, until Lelouch had to slap him hard with the reality of the world. Rivalz and Kallen look at him for a second, nodding and keep attending to the class, it was Rivalz the one that had a wide smile, already suspecting how Lelouch was going to make Suzaku school life a lot more interesting than it was the previous time.

Not mention, and despite all the arguments they had shown him, Lelouch was going to take advantage of this opportunity to reveal some of his cards to the few persons he has ever considered more than pawns. The secrets, the lies, the hidden motives; Rivalz thought about how a sad life was imposed on him a decade after the death of the man, he considered his best friend, the same man that sacrificed himself for the sake of the world, always bearing the mantle of the greatest evil on earth.

The blue haired scion of the Brittannian nobility became a hardened and bitter man after that day, he man it up, as his wife, the blonde bombshell called Milicent Ashford told him, and became someone that Lelouch would have considered more than trustworthy. In a sense; Rivalz was really grateful for that, he used that same skills and mindset to protect Nunnaly from the clutches of that fucker of Schneizel for all the time he could, and he laughed along his wife in the faces of the execution squad that shot them to death.

Rivalz grimaced at the memories, those were dark times indeed, but all of them were in the past, and now, in the present, his best friend was a powerful Campione, that was gonna set the world straight, before that asshole of his father or half big brother could mess it. Not to long after the message of Lelouch; the door of the class, did open and a nervous and a little scared Suzaku entered in the class, looking around like a deer caught in the headlights.

His eyes widened when he saw Lelouch, but for his entire mental shock, the violet eyed Campione just smiled and waved back at him. Greeting him like it has been just a few days the last time they have seen each other, and not when they separated for a stray missile that almost blow out the camp where both were recovering.

"Suzaku?, Kururugi Suzaku?, speak about surprises, how have you been, my friend?" smiled Lelouch raising and increasing the mental breakdown of the Japanese boy, Lelouch hugged him.

Half of the class was already in the verge of a mental breakdown at the absurdity of the situation, but the other half; mostly girls; were blinking and some of them blushing at the image. Suzaku opened his mouth to reply but no sound come, weakly hugging back the man that did seems to be Lelouch, but Lelouch has not done any physical exercise in his life, and this teenager with his face, was in perfect physical shape.

"Teacher" called Lelouch to the sighing teacher in the chalkboard "Student Council business, if you excuse us" drag Lelouch the stunned Suzaku out of the class.

At the same time, the rest of the Council proceed to follow Lelouch with different expressions, from confusion and curiosity to apprehension and a little fear.

"You are abusing of that excuse a lot lately, Mister Lamperouge" chuckled the teacher that know could do nothing about it.

"And its never a lie, wonderfully convenient, isn't it?" replied back Lelouch with a wide smile, making several people blink a pair of times.

Lelouch fame among the student populace was one of an Ice Prince, that treats everyone around with kindness but in distant manners, and suddenly, he was doing jokes and speaking with a number like they were old friends. Walking from a nearby hall, Millys instincts, the instincts of the gossip queen of the Academy were already in overload.

But as she has received the text, she has already deducted what was all this about, however, that was not an excuse to get some fun, now that they were at it.

Milly was enjoying her second youth as much as she could, not only by jumping at Rivalz bones every chance they had to get some intimacy; after all, they did marry in the past, when the boy grow a pair and became quite the interesting and lovely man; but to enjoy her life as student once more. She has greatly missed these days, just after she graduated and became a journalist, and even after all the world went straight to hell, she ofter turned her eyes back into the past, to this wonderful days.

She was truly grateful to Pandora and Magnus for what they have done, she has already changed god for Pandora in all her prayers, she used Magnus too, but now that the Campione, or demigod, or whatever the hell the man was; has get down to earth to give Lelouch a hand, she has to admit that praying in his name will be a little odd.

Not to long after she exited her class, she found the retinue, walking to the Student Council room, and she quickly joined them on their way. Lelouch was ahead of them, talking with Suzaku who was answering the best he could, but it was clear for all of them, that the Japanese man was more than confused.

Suzaku was stunned, to say the last; he has never expected to find Lelouch in an Academy, he really didn't expect to ever see his old friend again, and much less such warm welcome. Not that he was not grateful, in fact he was happy to see his old and good friend again, but this welcome was a little too over the top for him, who was not exactly accustom to be greeted in such welcoming manners. Lelouch could almost read the mind of the Japanese teenager, he knew him very well, and he reminded himself, that this was not the bitter and regretful Suzaku he knew, but a blank slate on where Euphemia was writing her claim.

The young Campione wanted to change the past, and among the things he wanted to change, was changing his hateful relationship with Suzaku.

Lelouch know that both had done a lot of stupid things, they hunted each other, in a game of tag, each time ripping a piece of something important for them in each clash; from the death of Euphemia, to threw Lelouch at the feet of his father, a long and nasty list of sins.

But that was going to change, Lelouch had the power to change it, and he will change it.

Lelouch was Zero, the Black King, and everyone submitted to the King.

The rest of the retinue were a mix of emotions.

Kallen wanted to beat the crap out of the boy, for being such a cretin in the past, and then demolish him, once and for all, in a Knightmare battle, it was a thorn on her side, the battle of the Damocles was nothing but the excuse for Suzaku to fake his own death and became the new Zero, so for her, it didn't count to determine who was the best.

The green haired Cera Constantine, Aka C.C, was enjoying this a lot.

At the beginning she suspected that she was going to hate being back in the school, but then she meet Milly and together they discover how much both had in common, she wondered if she could hook the blonde to the supreme delicatessen that was the Pizza and gossip a little about who could be the next, mistresses of Lelouch. No matter how much in denial was Lelouch, for C.C it was clear that the number of his court ladies was going to grow more in the future, not only Kallen and her, and she was eager to discover who were the chosen ones, so to speak. For C.C it was a source of infinite amusement, see a powerful being as Lelouch, squirm under the pinkies of his own wives and lovers; it was absolutely hilarious.

In the case of Milly and Rivalz, both awakened into this time line, it was a mix of amusement and eagerness; in part wanting to get their friend back and on the other part, hoping this time, all will go for the best.

On the other hand, Shirley and Nina were not as amused and confidant as the rest of the Student Council. Shirley couldn't hide her curiosity about how was possible for Lulu to actually know and befriend a number. Nina was on the specter of being terrified, in her eyes, all the numbers; specially the elevens; were a very dangerous being, terrific and dangerous beings that will cause her harm.

Nina was not a bad girl at heart, in the same way that some of the most brilliants minds of her epoch, Nina was hiding in her science, as a mode to deal with the reality, she was shy and do not spoke with people around her, except the people of the Student Council. Very few among her friends know the deep scar the girl had in her mind; not long after she come to live in the Area, she was attacked in the Ghetto, for the reports in the Brittannian police database, she was sexually assaulted.

For her friends, it was not really a surprise how scarred the girl was, and how introverted has she became, much more interested in her investigations and experiments, than in the real world around her.

As Lelouch guided the stunned Suzaku into the council, he took a second to read the expression of his friends, noticing the fear in the eyes of Nina. Lelouch was slowly approaching the girl, helping with her investigations, at the same time, he channeled her interest into another paths, like alternative energy sources, instead the research that would eventually lead into FREYJA.

It was a slow process, one that he will not force, unless it was necessary, enough damage has he done already to the girl.

It didn't take them too much time to reach the Student Council Room, as soon as they entered, Leloch order the machines around to block any record on the room, what he was about to reveal in the room, must never be leak outside or, at last, not by video or audio files; he has no doubt that none of the present will ever betray him.

Not this time.

However, Lelouch will lie if he denied that burdening Suzaku with this secret; specially when he was seeing Euphemia secretly; was not amusing him, Suzaku was one of the worst liars in story, and keeping his mouth shut will be a torture for the man; and Lelouch will ask him to keep his mouth shut.

They entered the room, and Lelouch took a seat, as the rest of the council take places around the room, this was something, that Lelouch thought he should have done since the beginning. Instead of lying and forcing Sayoko to cover his absences; when her talents would have been incredible more useful as infiltrator and spy; or tossing all kind of excuses around, up to a point he lost an absurd amount of time planning how to slip past the attention of his own friends. Lelouch took seat in his usual place and smiled to the entire council.

"I suppose all of you wanted to know how is it possible that I meet Suzaku here" pointed Lelouch to the boy who smiled warily and shrugged.

"We are childhood friends; he, Nunnaly and I played a lot of times together in the temple on where his family had residence" explained Lelouch and he swore that he could see the interrogations popping up in Shirleys head.

"When I first arrive in Japan" reminiscence Lelouch those days, some of the best of his childhood, until the day of the invasion " I was scared and suspicious about everyone around, not precisely the best company ..."

"Understatement of the century" muttered Suzaku under his breath and Lelouch shook his head, the Japanese boy blushed a little being caught in the comment.

"It was needed the intervention of Nunnaly to crack the ice and became good friends after that" laughed Lelouch "speaking of which, later I will take you to see her" said Lelouch to Suzaku.

Suzaku blinked a pair of times.

"Wait, Nunna is alive?" whispered Suzaku " but the missile, it hit point blank".

"Yes it did" nodded Lelouch " fortunately, we were only toss around by the explosion shock wave, instead of being torn to shreds by the shrapnel".

Shirley was pale and acting by instinct, she just hug Lelouch, she was always being a very emotional girl, and the thought of Nunna or Lulu suffering like that, hurt her a lot; her gigantic crush on the Campione did not precisely help.

"Do not worry Shirley" combed her hair Lelouch, soothing the girl " it´s all in the past, and speaking about the past, perhaps, it is time for me to present myself like is adequate".

Shirley blinked and Suzaku paled this time around, Nina only seems to be confused for the words of Lelouch. The rest of the presents, had already express their opinions, some in favor, some against, but at the end, all of them agreed on the point that it could be beneficial in the long run. Kindly separating Shirley from him, Lelouch raise from the chair and walk to an open space in the room, facing all the people inside the room, and with a flourished reverence and a dashing smile, he said:

"Allow me to introduce myself".

His smile widened when he listened to the snorts, huffs, chuckles and facepalms of Milly, Kallen, Rivalz and C.C.

"My Name is Lelouch Vi Britttannia, son of Charles Zi Brittannia and Eleventh Prince to the throne".

Rivalz was quick enough to catch a fainting Shirley, and Milly just wave her hand in front of the stoned face of Nina.

"I think you broke them, you meanie" giggled the girl.

"Yeah, mate, I think you went a little overboard with this one" laughed Rivalz moving the fainted girl to a nearby chair, so she could be comfortable.

"Nice, my Warlock" purred C.C and kissed him deeply and with a liberal application of tongue.

"And now you broke him too" pointed with her thumb Kallen to the frozen expression of Suzaku, eying C.C like she was going to trample the damn witch any second.

Lelouch enjoyed the kiss, and when they finally separated, Lelouch smiled to his friends and comrades.

"I would say, this has gone well, don't you agree?"


	5. Chapter 4

Area Eleven

Brittannian settlement.

Lelouch had a face splitting smile plastered on his face, he knew that at some point, he will have to face Mao and his craziness and obsession with C.C, but now, the mind reader _Geass_ user, has appeared in front of him; or to be more precise, he was trailing him.

Lelouch had received an alarm from a traffic camera that has located the crazy sod, and informed its master about the presence of the man in his surroundings; not long after that, Lelouch confirmed it, getting into a train and seeing the mind reader follow his steps not much later.

That action, has lead both of them into a little mouse and cat game, when Lelouch thought about C.C and perceive the growing frustration and anger of the mind reader; Lelouch knew that he could completely block the skills of Mao or even better, give him a quick glance into his _Authority._

His adorable green haired witch almost burn herself ;when she entered for the first time in this dimension; in his brain and soul at the sight and power of the part of his soul where the humongous power of the _Authority_ reside. Mao was not as skilled as C.C, not by far, even if his _Geass_ made him a very well mind reader, but his inability to control his own power the day it went berserk has only dammed the Chinese orphan into madness, eroding his sanity to the point on where he just wanted a world on where only he and C.C would live. Lelouch pitied the man, at the beginning he hated his guts, he threatened to kill Nunnaly after all, but when his _Geass_ went second phase and Lelouch had to be extremely careful about how and when he could use it; the violet eyed Campione could understand the hell Mao has been living for decades before he meet him.

But that was not an excuse for giving him free reigns to do as he pleased, much less in Lelouch own backyard, none of the Campione of any dimension had seen any intrusion in their domains with good eyes, and Lelouch was not going to be the exception of the rule.

However, he would enjoy the little game of hunter and prey, even if he knew pretty well, that Mao was deluding himself believing he was the hunter.

They took different trains during their game; Lelouch almost keeping a mental conversation with the man, as he mocked and laughed at him and his obsession, hurting the mind reader with his own weapons, obliging him to listen to his vivid memories of the passionate nights C.C shared with him, how she moaned Lelouch name, how her lips tasted and how sweet her juices were. Lelouch was constantly berating the man, and he enjoyed how his rage, envy and frustration keep growing at alarming levels.

Mao could not respond, but he could perfectly listen to those thoughts, thoughts like:

"_I want to get home soon, and get C.C lips around my cock, in her seven hundred years, she really mastered the art of the fellatio"._

Or something among these lines:

"_I am going to bang her so hard, that she will have to heal a broken pelvis with that healing powers of hers; I am going to ram her ass so long and so deep that she was going to be shitting my seed for weeks"._

These were disturbing and nauseating thoughts; he will never thought about his love like this, but he needed to infuriate Mao, to make him lost his focus and forget that he has been drag by the nose into a more adequate place where the Campione could deal with the madman. Lelouch hated such a waste of potential, the _Geass_ of Mao was one of the most useful things he has ever seen, however, his secondary effect was truly a nasty one; not really a surprise Mao has developed a spoiled child personality, with almost no human contact except C.C.

Mao developed an obsession with the witch, the only one who was safe from his mental reading skill, the only one whose thoughts did not assault Mao 24/7; in the first time line, Lelouch has suffered a lot at the hands of the madman, barely surviving with this life and cover as Zero intact. At the end, C.C had to shot him at point blank meanwhile the man was hugging her, she had to personally end his life, as a final act of mercy to the monster she created; the madman was unable to grant her, her wish, instead he was totally obsessed with her, almost cutting her in pieces for transportation and dragging her to Australia; to a white house in some forgotten piece of land in the Australian landscape.

Lelouch knew how disappointed C.C really was after all that incident, how she hated herself for creating such a monster like Mao, something that her own primordial contractor did in the first place, when she betrayed her and left her with the Code that made her an immortal witch, unable to scape her pains and sorrows. After seven hundred years, C.C has finally found someone that could not only grant her wish of finally dying in peace, but someone that could walk this valley of tears with her for a long time, before Death would finally reclaim both of them.

That was a lesson that Magnus has deeply engraved in him during his conversation about what the power of the Campiones are; no matter how much arrogant a Campione could become, they are not gods, they hunted them, they killed them, but they will never live forever, unless in the Sagas and the myths of the people of the world. Magnus or better said, Magnus real body, Magnus Blacksson, was an almost a millennium old Nordmanni, a dweller of the lands of the Scandinavia and Norway of old ages, but he was not eternal, he would die form old age eventually, even if he appeared strong and vital despite his long age. The Campione could become eternal, but never immortal; enough fools had Magnus to withstand for centuries, obsessed with the quest of immortality and how to achieve that cursed state, Magnus had meet enough "Immortals" to knew better, that in almost all the cases, all the aforementioned individuals considered the immortality, a curse.

Even C.C could be killed, you had to take her code, a feat that very few people could achieve, but it can be done, with the adequate preparations, preparations, that for the first time in her long life, she was not ready to take. Lelouch allow himself to made his thought wander a little about his green haired witch, her hair, her smirk, her deep eyes on where he could loss himself all day; it was a safe assumption that he was in love with her. As much as he was with Kallen, but his mind shielded those thoughts from the _Geass_ mind reader following him, so he would not suddenly have a bright idea and decided to go after Kallen, her mind; strong as it was; was not prepared to defend herself against a _Geass _like the one Mao possessed.

Lelouch put a lot of thoughts about C.C as the first line of his brain, making Mao center his attention in those same thoughts instead of digging deep.

Not that Lelouch feared the man, but it would be quite dangerous if the mind reader suddenly get knowledge of the past and what Lelouch truly was; if that happens Lelouch would have to hunt the bastard down and tear his soul apart. In that state, he would not be able to tell a thing to Lelouch bastard of a father, just in case Charles Zi Brittania decided to interrogate the soul of the _Geass _user about who and how had he been kill him in Area Eleven.

_Geass_ user are dangerous; even those with lesser gifts could do a lot of damage under the adequate circumstances, not to mention what a person like Rolo could do whenever he wanted, if he wasn't already tight leashed by the Order; as they had turned the boy, into their little assassin. Lelouch knew, that at some point, the Order will take an interest on him and his activities, after all, C.C was with him, and it was a vital plan of the Ragnarok connection.

Magnus laughed for an hour after he eared how has Charles named his plan; as a splinter personality and body of the original Magnus Blacksson, Magnus Frostsson remembered all of what the original Magnus has done, and among those feats, was the occasion on where he battled Surt, the King of the Fire Giants of Muspelheim. If Charles ever meet the Fire giant, he would soon change the name of plan, never, ever wanting nothing to do with the blazing nightmare.

Lelouch walked into a series of back alleys of the Brittannian settlement in Area Eleven, he was slowly and carefully dragging Mao by the nose, to a place on where he could deal with him without causing any ruckus; the mad _Geass_ user was not one that dwell in subtlety, preferring to be blunt as a hammer in the face. Still, Lelouch had to admit, how the Chinesse man was capable of mindfucking anyone with their own fears, that, was a skill to be respected and feared in equal measure; being real, Lelouch has done a lot of similar things but with his wits and a little push of his_ Geass_ to make someone confesses what lurks in their minds.

Only one single time thought; that limit was a pain on the ass the first time line, he could have done a lot more, if his _Geass_ could have been used more than once, specially on Euphemia, he would have stopped the massacre before it could have begun.

In a corner of his mind, safe and protected from the rabid intrusion of Mao, Lelouch pondered how that moment; the massacre; has been the Rubicon that had sent him into the path of Carnage, the moment on where he directly stained his hands with the blood of his own and dear half sister. That murder weighted heavily on Lelouch, far more than any of the ones that followed that; although the assassination of Shirley has been another of those moments that almost made him take a sharp blade and put and end to all the bullshit in his life. Lelouch did ponder suicide thoughts, even with all his hate and anger, Lelouch was not a pillar of unbreakable will, he was a teenager, trapped in a game of thrones, with the destiny of the world as final prize for the winner of the macabre and twisted game his parents, Schneizel and him played in the other time line. The destiny of the world was a sad, stagnating, ruin, that dwell into a forced peace; peace that only made humanity rot and fester in apathy and indifference, to name some lesser evils of Schneizel Utopia of peace through fear.

The violet eyed Campione followed his inner GPS, connecting through his will into the mainframe of the traffic system of the Area Eleven Settlement, using the computers of the place, to calculate, the quickest and safest route into the Ghettos.

Contrary to popular belief among the Brittannian population in the settlement, not every single corner of the Ghettos is controlled by the Brittannian police force; if only were that simple, they simply let the criminals run into the chaotic and uncharted Ghettos, mazes on where they policemen knew that they were not the alpha predator, but the favorite prey of the elevens instead. Lelouch has already mapped almost every singe tunnel and building he could find in the maps of the Viceroy Palace, going as far as controlling a VTOL and using the Factsphere of the vehicle to get an actualized map of how the streets and pathways were inside the Ghettos. Between the Settlement and the Ghettos, there was some blocks of ruins and wrecked buildings that are...No man lands to define how the places worked; neither the Elevens, neither the policemen, wanted nothing to do with those places, and under that light, they were the perfect place for Lelouch, to deal with the unexpected pest that has appeared in his backyard.

Being honest, he considered Mao so unimportant, that he has almost forgotten about him, even if he has done a lot of damage to him in the past; at this moment he was a minor nuisance at best; even if by some miracle he managed to dwell into Lelouch memories of the past, it was more than probable that the mind reader would go crazy of the visions.

Not to mention, that Lelouch was pretty much sure, that Mordred would burn the mind of the crazy Chinese man, if he ever dare to get nearly close to the place on Lelouch mind where the _Authority_ was acting, as he was discretely controlling the traffic lights and the elevators, so Mao would not loss him.

Lelouch thought about, how it was so easy, that it was almost funny.

Ok, Lelouch would admit, that his _Authority_ was unfair; it was a game changer of the biggest order, controlling the same power of the deities that the humans worshiped in the past was quite the high, and even if he tried by all means to steel his mind against the temptation of abusing of the _Authority_, he had to recognize that he was using the power of the [Black King] for everything he could.

From creating _Clarent _to sent thousands of plans in motion, to procure himself and his precious people quite the good living; he suspects that the arrogance came from Mordred, but; and being blunt; he loved to live in luxury, he past so much time in that horrid torture dimension, that Lelouch was more than eager to indulge himself in all the pleasures he could find in life.

The pleasures of the flesh; C.C and the women that are to come; being just a part of it, he was slowly becoming a little hedonistic, but that only affects to his Lelouch persona; Zero was stoic, spartan and focused on the cause, Lelouch on the other hand, will take any chance he could find to spent time with his lovers, eating the best food he could find or cook by himself; years of taking care of Nunnaly and himself did make a great cook of him; and in general, enjoy the better things of life. Still, he didn't want to drown himself in those same pleasures, as it happened the last time, he could become obsessed with them, losing sight of what really was important, and it was the happiness of those that he wronged in the past.

Lelouch had extensive discussions with himself on that regard; he knew that the list of the people he did wrong was huge, but at the same time, lately he was finding more and more counter arguments about why the hell should he care about people that betrayed him in the past, with just some ludicrous proofs and some honeyed words?. There was a lot of people that Lelouch had deceived, and one could argue that it was needed, but in truth, he just sacrificed all of them by his own ambitions; ok, creating an Empire that could set the world on a better route, even if it only lasted for a decade; was impossible without hundreds of sacrifices, but even then Lelouch was the architect of his own fall. His arrogance, dependance of the _Geass_, his absolute confidence in his own cleverness, created a series of events and circumstances that could only lead to only logical end; the Zero Requiem.

He has to be the bad guy, otherwise the world would just ignore him, like another crazy fool, that believed that he could change the world by force; hundreds of dictators, crazy men, and aspirant to crime masterminds had commit the same mistake. Weapons could only carry you so far, Brittannia was a shiny example of that; they had the Knightmare tech as supreme ace under their sleeve, but it has been a decade since then, and slow but steady; the rest of the countries are reaching the point on where they could equal the Brittannian frames in battle.

Of course, Lelouch knew that Charles didn't give a shit about how thin and desperate, Brittannian lines were holding their grounds, he was more occupied with his Ragnarok Connection bullshit, something that benefit Lelouch, as it only gives him, even more space to maneuver and checkmate all of them. He has already entered into Cornellia G-1, and take a look at the _"For Cornelia eyes only deployment maps"_ despite Cornelia superior status; and by so, supposedly capable of denying his [Black King] ability to control machines; when he hacked the VTOL in Saitama, he programmed a long term virus in the flying machine.

One that had stated him as user of the G-1, with the equal access of Cornelia, a shadow user that will not left a register of any kind during his visits to the G-1 Mainframe or the Viceroy Palace for what it matters, he was a complete ghost in the machine, and he preferred it that way, after all, he couldn't go around, flaunting his powers, that would lead to a lot of questions he preferred to keep unanswered.

Humanity was not ready for discovering that everything they believed in the past, was still at their reach.

If C world was ever discover by the mass of humanity, the Collective will became even more than a mess that is it today, gods, of all ages and shapes, could get their forms and powers back, becoming [Heretic Gods], and Lelouch, was pretty much conscious that he was not a full fledged Campione, he knew that, in a direct confrontation against a deity, he was at disadvantage, as all the tech, this world seems to rely on so heavily; will be completely obsolete.

Well, perhaps a FREYJA in the face, will be suffice to end a lesser [Heretic God] but Magnus has already told him, that higher deities could only be slain by other deities.

Odin, Zeus, Athena, Santa Muerte, those are some examples of deities that could only be slain by the power of the _Authorities._ Irrational as hell, but that was the attribute that all Campiones shared, as they are the only ones capable of actually slaying a god.

Lelouch continued guiding Mao into the labyrinth of the Ghettos, the Chinesse madman, was happily ignorant that he was following Lelouch like a hound after a juicy filet steak, believing that he was the hunter and not the prey; Lelouch wanted him like that, and so far, Mao was happily filling his role. They walked into the No mans land, that marked the border between the modern settlement and the ruined ghetto. Lelouch; whose mind was constantly sending images of the marathon night of sex he had with C.C, the same day he returned to the past; has already used his _Authority_ to make any possible witness or hostage for Mao, to left the place as soon as they could.

He prefered not to force a hostage situation, those always end badly for anyone involved, even if he could just simple impose his order over Mao; his little Geass be dammed. Mind reading was a useful trick, but it was already incapable of disconnecting the constant noise of the people thoughts, he would do jack against the mind of a Campione, tearing apart a new one in Maos, already more than saturated brain.

As they enact they little charade of a hunt, Lelouch; who has already choosen the building where he would deal with the crazy man; sent his mind to a conveniently placed; ruined store, whose broken TVs and other appliances, still could be of use he only needed a little pull of his _Authority. _Suddenly, at the side of Mao, one of the broken TVs came to life, showing him an image of C.C with the face distorted in pleasure, as she rode Lelouch with wildly abandon. That made numbers on Maos already derailed state of mind; with an animal screech, Mao kicked the TV, destroying the screen and sending pieces of it all around the broken front of the abandon shop.

A new trio of TVs, get to life, continuing to show him, the same image, however, one of them, just show C.C back, as Lelouch made her moan lustily when he took her doggy style. Mao picked up an iron bar, from a nearby rubble pile and proceed to smash the TVs with his face contorted in an expression of anger and hate, Mao has been enduring the thoughts of Lelouch, taking comfort in the idea that he was going to murder the arrogant and nasty bastard that has defiled his precious C.C, but this was the straw that broke the camels back. Even in the best of the occasions, Mao was a crazy psychopath, with a very short fuse; who greatly enjoyed torturing his victims with their own revealed secrets, as Mao could pierce their minds with his _Geass_ and use their worst secrets against them.

As Mao destroyed everything in the shop out of pure rage, one could understand why C.C wanted to be the hell out of his reach, not only for his insane and borderline sick obsession with her but how easy he could turn to violence as the drop of a hat, too.

Lelouch was not really surprised how C.C ended shooting him at point blank.

But suddenly, Lelouch had an epiphany. For the last days he has been discussing with himself, and now, suddenly appears a person who could voice those thoughts that you would never dared to told yourself in loud voice, the chance was too good to let it slip. Changing plans, Lelouch turn around and walked to the store that Mao was trashing, perhaps an unconventional mind, could be the one that help him focus on one single path, and forget about the infinite possibilities that his mind created at any step he tried to make.

Multi tasking, at a level that could let a supercomputer to shame, was sometimes a drag, as he could contemplate several dozen different possibilities in a second, and plain for a dozen different scenarios for an event, and being unable to choose one of them, as all are profitable or are helpful for something that he wanted to happen in the future. Perhaps that´s why mostly all Campiones had some kind or court or harem, it keeps them human, or with the feet on the ground; however that was not the perfect solution, Magnus had already told him about several Campiones, he meet during his time as Devil King in his original dimension and how some of them became very good friends, and others bitter enemies.

Lelouch was pretty much sure, that he was going to be the only Campione in existence, at last for a long, long time, there was no gods to fall on earth, and the C world, the Boundary between realms was in turmoil as it was today, when the Sword of Akhasa was being fabricated by his delusional parents. More than once had Lelouch give a thought about allowing his parents triumph and slain the C world, he felt nothing but wrath when he thought about what those cowards had done to him, but Pandora and Magnus had interceded for them, and he knew that the souls of those that he loved would end there, or they were already there, waiting for his call, for his command to be back into a more hopeful tomorrow.

And that was another of his long list of tasks, should he awake those that in time, became the core of the Black Knights, those that betrayed him at the end or who they made suffer more than enough for two lives.

Decisions, decisions, always decisions.

Lelouch was way beyond the mortal realm now, he was a Campione, a Devil King, and his mere existence, was already challenge enough for all the more scientific minds of this era, what he really didn't want, was the notoriety that some Campione had among their people. Not even in the supernatural side of the world; being actually represented by the Order and the _Geass;_ wanted he to be recognized, he liked his Zero facade, the best of him, sum into a single facade of revolutionary hero. When the truth, was much darker, how his anger and hate was the real fuel behind his apparently heroic deeds and how at the end, those same lies came to bite his ass badly, in the form of the Zero requiem.

But then, the world had an interesting way to show him, that there is always a second opinion, a second chance, a different way to do thing, after all, how would a crazy and egomaniac mind like Mao did things if he was on Zeros shoes, that could be a fascinating experiment, and a test to determine Lelouch own sanity.

Lelouch just though about it for a moment, what better way to see if you are out of your mind, that see if a one certificated crazy fucker had exact the same plans as you?.

It was one of those conversations was he was not eager for, but he need to know, in a convoluted sort of way, what would have done a certified psychopath like Mao, if Mao was in Lelouchs shoes during all the Black Rebellion and the events that took place after that?. Lelouch feared the answer, as it would possible only reaffirm his deep belief that he was a complete monster, and now that he was a Campione, the prospect were not much better. Lelouch sighed and walked into the alley where Mao keep trashing the shop, enraged for the images on the screens, the young Campione couldn't but curse his own curiosity, and the day had begun so well...

The young Campione walked at a leisure pace, he had all the time of the world after all, still, he was giving Mao time to chill out a little, to let some steam go, in the form of the destruction that he was unleashing in the abandoned TV shop on where Lelouch manifested the images of the savage night he had with C.C. On a side note, he was quite proud of how she managed to completely satisfy his witch, she was hundreds and hundreds years old woman with tons of experience, once again, Campione powers for the win, his lesser _Authority [Jotunblut] _was a blessing. An on a tertiary mental note, he was eager to rub his physical capabilities in the face of Tohdoh sensei, after so many years of running from physical exercise, now his _Authority _made him the epitome of the human capabilities, and if what Magnus told him was correct, pouring his own power into the _Authority_ would only strengthen his body even more, up to a point of raising a Frame over his head and toss it to the freaked out audience.

Lelouch allow himself a couple of seconds to ponder about that image, that would be an impressive entrance that would no doubt gain the attention of allies and enemies in equal measure, perhaps it was time to show how screwed their enemies really are?.

Fortunately, Lelouch get a grip on reality before that thought could root in his mind, once again, it was Mordred, suggesting ideas worthy of the title of Black King that pretty much resume his powers as Campione; being honest, Lelouch was not against some flamboyant and spectacular appearances and demonstration of power, but everything must be precisely calculated. He was not the same idiot of the original time line, and this time around, he was not going to tolerate any screw ups, even if he finally had to reveal himself and flatten Albion to the ground with his own bare hands; even if his _Authority _was not one of direct combat or massive damage, once he got his feet on Albion, the entire city would blow in pieces as he could take control of the energy generators of the place and sent them into overload.

That was something that his old self would have done in a blink, but this new self was way more conscious of the repercussions of the hammer and terror tactics his old self favored. Campione Lelouch was the equivalent of a nuke, once you let it go, there was no way back; and exactly for those same reasons, was why he was playing the slow and hardest way about this rebellion. It was difficult to actually juggle the destinies of those that he cared about, and to actually pay his debts to those that he offended or practically destroyed and those that deserve nothing but burn forever in the fires of Muspelheim.

Entering in the vandalized shop, he looked out for a chair and put it back on his place, taking seat on it and mentally betting with himself about how much time will Mao need to notice that he was just behind him, patiently waiting for the Chinese man to notice his presence.

After a couple of minutes, Lelouch sweat drop and coughed loudly to call the attention of the rabid man.

When Mao turn his face to the sound, Lelouch thought about how accurate the rabid adjective was; Maos face was twisted in a savage snarl, teeth grit and foam falling from the edges of his lips, his mind was already over his limits and despite all his natural cockiness, Mao was still at heart a petulant child, with little to none empathy. Not that Lelouch could throw stones to that roof, his past life as Zero was a testament to the idea that he should have lived the life a little more, or a lot more, depending who do you ask.

Lelouch had the nagging suspicious that a lot of people was convinced that he was a gay closet, of course, when the lovely C.C appeared and french kissed him in front of the entire class, all that bullshit went direct to the incinerator, much to the displeasure of the Manga Club female members. Lelouch still smirked when he manipulated Suzaku to be the one that had to carry the deed, watching with malicious amusement how Suzaku peeked the contents of the documents and went progressively green as he pass page after page of that horror, teenager girls had the wildest imaginations.

Mao did what any sane berserker would do in his shoes, as contradictory as it could sound, as charged against Lelouch, raising his metal bar, ready to smash Lelouch head like melon under a jackhammer. A second later, Mao was in the floor, blinking in disbelief and with the imprint of a punch on the right of his face, as Lelouch eyed the metal bar Mao had on his hands a second ago, before the Campione shrugged and toss the piece of metal over his shoulders into the wreckage that was the shop.

None dared to say a word at the situation, Lelouch mostly because he wanted Mao to be the one initiating the conversation and Mao because he was still trying to make heads or tails about what the fuck has happened.

"Wha..." tried to ask Mao but a pang of pain from his bruised face remind him that he has been haymakered to the next century, only his natural resilience has saved him from being koed for hours from a punch that would possible rip the head off of a common man.

"Hello, Mao" saluted Lelouch still sitting in his chair with a smirk in his lips " welcome to Area Eleven or calling it by his real name, Japan".

"Who, how?" muttered the Chinese man, raising from the floor, massaging his sore cheek and mandible.

"My name is Lelouch" presented himself " just your everyday teenager".

Mao shut up, and Lelouch knew that the man was trying to read his mind, to listen to the thoughts that Lelouch had but Lelouch has already shielded his mind, so the only thing Mao could find was the face of C.C twisted in the most shameless expression of pleasure. The anger of Mao start to boil again, but the pain of the right side of his face was a better adviser and told him, how much over his head was in this occasion.

Mao was not a fighter, not even by chance, he just listened to the thoughts of the people attacking him and react in consequence, but even if he listened to the thoughts of this boy, his punch has shackled him like a leaf, he was charging and then he was in the floor almost knocked out. This was not how the things usually goes, and Mao was not accustomed to be in the dark, in fact apart from C.C this was the first that manages to hide his thoughts from him, even if it is in such a cowardly way, hiding behind a facade of images that made Maos blood boil in anger

The green haired goddess was his, she is the only woman in the world for him, the one that he has ever loved.

The rest of the world were nothing but meat bags full of useless shit, Mao knows it well, he had been swimming in those same mind cesspits since C.C granted him his _Geass_, it was funny at the beginning but soon it became a gigantic chore just to tone out a few or listen to the exact thing he wanted to listen.

But this man has found a way to counter his mind reading by forcing him to see a thing that would no doubt focus his mind, Mao snarled like a beast and focusing his talent, tried to dig deeper into the mind of the man, just to figuratively smashing his face against a golden and black wall of pure will. Giving a couple of steps back, as if he has been slapped, Maos face turned from one of rage and anger to one of disbelief and hidden fear; this was the first time anyone was capable of actively opposing his readings, this boy has managed to block and repulse him out of his mind.

That was impossible, unless he had a...

"Yes, I do posses a _Geass,_ too" nodded Lelouch at Mao " it was not so difficult to deduct, and yes C.C granted it to me when we sleep together".

"C.C is mine" snarled Mao " she is mine, and no one elses, you had defiled her".

Lelouch just smiled widely, he saw this coming, after all, Mao was obsessed with C.C up to the point that he was about to cut her in pieces with a chainsaw so she could fit into a trunk and smuggle her outside of the country.

A lot of things could have been said to the older Lelouch, that he was a crazy bastard, that he was nuts, that he was a vengeance obsessed emo, thousands and thousands of sins, but he would have never done anyone something like that. And then, as he was pondering those thoughts, a flash of what he done to his own sister appeared in his mind and all good humor he could have, vanished like it was hot vapor. Lelouch corrected himself, he was not a monster that could rip someone to shreds with a chainsaw, no, he was far worse, he was the demon emperor that torn to shredss the heart of each and everyone that at some point did give a damn about his cold and wicked heart.

"Oh, certainly I did" laughed Lelouch with a laugh that carries no humor but sadness and regret " not directly of course, I would never even dream about hurt her, I lover her too much for that".

Mao blinked, this was not the response he was waiting for, neither the absurd image of an old and withered C.C laying in the cold floor of a cell before she expired her last breath, calling for a reunion with her warlock, however he could be, although, he started to seriously suspect it was the man in front of him.

"Warlock" he repeated and Lelouch shut up his laugh, pointing a glare at Mao.

The _Geass _mind reader freak out for the intensity behind that glare, this man was not human at all, it was impossible that this was a human being, his mere presence was sending goosebumps all over his spinal cord and his eyes were like the laser pointers of a sniper rifle.

"Yes, that was how she calls me" smirked Lelouch with nostalgia in the eyes and a tingle of hope that did not scape from the attention of Mao " that's how she affectionately calls me now, and I pretend to do good name of it".

Mao was in quite the conundrum, on one hand, he really wanted to tear the boy in front of him in little pieces until not even his mother would recognize the corpse, on the other hand he feared the boy in front of him. Not only he had kicked punched him like jackhammer but his mind was practically unreadable, a wall of black and golden from where snippets, incoherent images and scenes appeared from time to time. As a mind reader, Mao knew that the mental state of a person is vital for easing his mind reading Geass, as more distracted and stressed the victim was, the better for the reading, it was a matter of mindfuck his victim to the point that they would reveal all their secrets almost unconsciously.

He has done it a lot of times in the past, using his mind reading Geass to open a crack into a person and from then on, keep digging until he got what he wanted, he didn't like to use it a lot, not because he didn't give a fuck about his victims, but because his own Geass worked against him and filled his head with all the shit that the people thought at any moment.

A common person had about sixty thousand thoughts per day, Mao could listen to all of them, at the same time, every time he was near more than one person. To say it was a nightmare it would be put it mildly, not really a surprise he became a little sociopath as soon as he grew up with the constant company of C.C, the only one that gave a damn about him and the only person in the world that he could not read. Well, now the second person in the world that he could not read, although from time to time he listened to some spare thoughts here and there, mostly when the mental state of the boy was altered somehow, in the few words that they had exchanged, Mao has already detected that the boy seems to have a fixation for C.C as big as his.

That was not a good thing; Mao could handle some competition for her C.C, he would kill them all and prove that he was the only man for the green haired witch, but this boy has made his appearance in the arena for the love of C.C and for what he saw, he had already conquered her body in carnal way. Mao was a young man, and despite all his psychosis, he could appreciate a beautiful woman when he sees one, so far none compares to his green haired immortal love, but he understands the concept of physical attraction; he does had it bad for C.C but his love was more than purer that the debauchery that his boy has inflicted upon her.

Or so would Mao like to thought.

Being honest, C.C has been too much without any kind of physical attraction, after the first centuries, soon everything lost its taste and became bland and common; until a violet eyed Campione bulldozed his way into her heart of course, but she would never say that out loud, she had too much pride for that.

Lelouch and Mao just keep staring at each other, none of them entirely sure of how to continue the conversation, Lelouch was paying attention to a dozen different process at the same time, glorious multitasking skills, and was entirely sure how to conduct the conversation; Mao on the other hand was seriously lamenting not carrying a gun around.

"Mao" called Lelouch the other man, and Mao flinched " you know, I never knew your real name or why the Order created you, your _Geass_ reaching his peak must have been an absolute pain in the ass, believe me,I know" Lelouch show his own_ Geass,_ the red avian symbols on his eyes.

"Ha, nice try" pointed Mao to his glasses that deflected the sight of the Geass " but I always had one of this at hand, just in case" smirked the man.

"Oh, I applaud your caution" smirked back Lelouch channeling a bit of his _Authority_ into his voice, letting his golden and black aura slips a little out of his skin, spooking the gray haired man.

"**Now, please took them out" **Lelouch simply ordered and Mao obeyed without a question, realizing a second later that he had just low his only defense against the Geass of the other boy.

"Thank you, now you will obey each one of my commands" said Lelouch letting the _Geass_ of his eyes took control of Mao that tried to scream but the Absolute Obedience _Geass_ of Lelouch was faster and before he could even take an intake of breath, he was under Lelouch domain.

"Yes, sir" said Mao with a double _Geass_ flaring in his eyes, it was kind of curious effect, and one that effectively show that he was under his command.

Lelouch toss a chair to him and Mao took the chair, taking a seat in front of the boy and just keep staring at him,

"Now that was easier than I though" chuckled Lelouch remembering the pains that he had to endure the last time to get a hold on the dammed mind reader.

"Is your mind reading _Geass_ still working?" asked Lelouch, who just wanted to cover his bases, before he started his little psychological experiment.

"Yes sir, but I can not read your mind unless you are very distressed" answered immediately Mao.

That bits of news surprised Lelouch a little, so his powers really were attuned to his state of mind, uh, considering how unstable he was in the past and despite being very convinced himself that he was doing a great job keeping his own dark side under control; that could be great and horrible news at the same time.

_Authorities _really are the hardcore version of _Geass,_ taking as example his own _**[Black King]**_ who was the extremest version of the _Geass_ of Absolute obedience he had before, but at a divine level.

The scientist of this world couldn't even begun to comprehend what an _Authority_ much less a [_Heretic God], _could do to this plane of existence, even the relatively minor gods, like the Knights of the Round Table or the dozens of Greek Demigods of their mythology, are capable of devastating entire cities or countries during one of their rage fits. Thanks to Magnus, Lelouch had a good idea of how bad it could be if one of those manifested; perhaps that was one of the reasons why the Order put a leash on them into a cage of the size of an entire dimension and using silvers of their powers as _Geass_ and Codes. A piece of Lelouch really appreciated the idea, it was not entirely bad conceived, just horribly wrong maintained, becoming a nightmare instead of the protection of humanity that supposedly was; it was common sense, you can't shove a piece of the soul of a god into a mortal and hope that everything will go sunshine and rainbows.

"Tell me Mao, if you had a _Geass_ like mine, capable of putting anyone under your control one with a single glance, and you wanted to torn Brittania to shreds, what would have you done?" asked Lelouch and so, begun the test to see if he was the horrid motherfucker he expected to be.

"I would have put key individuals under my control and then travel to Avalon, took control of the power generators of the Court and when the Emperor appeared in the Court along all the nobles of the country, I would blow them all to kingdom come" asked Mao without hesitation.

"Uh, I did think of that" smiled Lelouch, who recognized that a similar thought has crossed his mind " but imagine that you can not reach Brittania, at last not physically, you can control people but not machines".

"People are the ones behind the machines" said Mao " once they had erased my presence, I would have ordered them to blow their heads so they can not say anything about what had happened".

Lelouch humor vanish completely, so close, so fucking close to what he did during the Second Black Rebellion to liberate his Black Knights. So, he was thinking like a bloody sociopath, being completely honest it was not entirely a surprise, at that point in his life, he was already almost beyond any possible redemption and the finish strike that was Nunnally acting as governor of Area Eleven was even worse. Suzaku pull that one on him, the bastard was convinced that he was doing it for the greater good, when he was nothing but a pawn in the schemes of Scheneizel and the Emperor, if only he could have seen it sooner, or better, if only Lelouch would not have been a complete asshole and put a dammed bullet in the chest of one of the few people of his family that he did not outright detest with a passion.

Euphy, sweet, kind and clever Euphemia Li Brittannia; Lelouch hands were stained in the blood of one of the few truly good people of this world, her murder at his hands mark the begining of the true rebellion against the Brittannian Empire. Her actions as the Massacre Princess were exactly what Zero need to raise practically all the world against the hypocrisy and social Darwinism of the Empire.

Wicked fruits from the devil tree; Lelouch should have known better, not all betrayals start with it, but when the Imperial Family is involved, they would inevitable end in blood.

And blood was what Suzaku brought to his plate, each time they meet.

"You are a clever thing Mao" sarcastically congratulated Lelouch to the mind reader "what would have you done if you had to put the leaders of the JLF under your command?, remember you can only _Geass_ once and as Geassed people they are less competent than they were usually".

Mao smirk turned twisted, like it was when he was about to destroy the mind of his latest victim, being honest with himself, Lelouch saw a dark reflection of his own smile of the past, the one that he had when he tried to kill Cornellia, a woman that had only loved him and Nunna, the one that he had when he killed anyone that crossed his path just to be sure they would not interfere later.

"Well, I would have give them a miracle" smiled Mao proud and Lelouch felt his heart drop, exactly the same words he used to explain his plans to his witch, damn he was starting to hate this conversation, it only added more daggers to his metaphorical chest with each answer.

"It worked to that Todoh, no?" asked Mao " all the Elevens believe he is some kind of big deal because he pulled a victory out of his ass by sheer luck during the invasion; with a _Geass_, I could make the enemy general screw up big time or have a secret agent that would turn the tides of the battle, or put them into an ambush and vaporized them with a big bomb under their noses".

Lelouch sighed.

Orange events, Dalton betrayal and the Submarine rescue, in that order.

Great, he acted like Mao, he was Mao, the mere idea send shivers through his spine, sensations of disgusts and nausea covering him, but he managed to put them down before he broke the neck of the sick reflection of him smiling at him like a prodigy student.

"Clever boy indeed" massaged his forehead Lelouch.

He didn't want to continue the experiment, he really didn't want to continue, it was so awfully clear that he was a complete jerk that it was tragical and painful. Pandora and Magnus were gods and both had a vision...different from humans, but now Lelouch was the mix of the humans and the gods, a Campione, one that carries both worlds.

Know he understood why they called them Devil Kings.

When he was a _Geass_ user, a boy, a teenager boy full to the brim with brimstone and hatred for everything around the world except his sister, he was the epitome of that definition.

Magnus called it the first time, not really a surprise, an idiot like Lelouch would be like a flamethrower in a bookstore as soon as a piece of, not precisely the kindest or purest of the gods, landed in his soul, turning his already more than messed up head into a death trap for everyone that had the misfortune of meet him.

"Mao, despite you know that you are nothing but a slave now" talked Lelouch with sadness in his voice, noticing how Mao had not loss his smile but had a tense tick in his frown and mandible, Mao could be a complete psychopath but he was not an idiot and part of his mind, as others in the past, was rebelling against the _Geass_ " I would like to thank you for your help, let me tell you a history and then I promise you that you would have the choice of pick up your own destiny, I swear it on my name, Lelouch Vi Brittania".

Mao, or at last the part of him that was trying to combat the strongest Geass he had ever saw, listened to the name and to the sudden appearance of an aura of black and golden and could only mutter two words in the deepest corners of his trapped mind.

"_Oh, Crap"._

Area Eleven/Recovery Clinic from victims of Refrain.

Kallen was happy, or at last as happy as her older self could be, trapped inside the body of a teenager girl.

She has been never one that surrendered to the circumstances, alas, this whatever, Lelouch has done to the time and space itself, was a new mark on his career of pulling amazing stunts out of his hat when the situation demanded. And he confessed to her, that was the cherry on top.

Smiling and blushing a little, giggling for the memory of the kiss they shared in the gardens; a kiss that would have ended in something far more raunchy if it weren't for Rivalz appearance; that memory still burned in her mind and lips, in the latter case, almost literally as she could still feel the sensation of the aura of Lelouch on her lips, each time they make out.

And it was a lot of times, whenever that meddlesome C.C was not in the way or smiling at her with that infuriating smile of hers that she would love to punch out of her for good, that green haired girl sure annoys her a lot. Not to mention how she was sleeping with Lelouch in a daily basis, claiming something about compensating for all the lost chances they had in the past; she blushed like a tomato when Milly and Rivalz nodded in understanding and shared a very long french kiss in front of her, with a liberal application of tongue.

Rivalz and Milly were the worst of the bunch, they were like rabbits in heat, although Kallen could not bring herself to say nothing to none of them, she remembered parts of the past were the couple could only recognize their loved each other a year before they were put in front of a firing squad for saving Nunna from the greedy hands of that snake of Scheneizel. Now that they were in their younger bodies and with all the experiences of the past, not really a surprise they wanted to make the best of it, although Kallen would like them not to be so vocal about it.

Truth to be told, they only talked about their relationship when they were among awakened like themselves.

Namely, Sayoko, Jeremiah, C.C, Magnus and Lelouch.

At first Kallen wanted to know, why so few?, but she soon understood that awakening people left and right would only cause utter chaos among allies and enemies, bringing an entire new game into the table, and so far, Lelouch, true to the promise of do not hide anything from her, wanted to keep the time line as stable as possible. There will be enough changes in the future to worry about, for the moment they would enjoy what they had, before the shit hit the fan and the Black Rebellion enters into a new stage that none of them could predict.

Still, she had her suspicions about what Lelouch was going to do when everything is done, his status as Campione made him practically a living god among humanity. And he was her boyfriend, a thought that warm her and made giggle and blush a little as she walked into the room of her mother inside the clinic.

Cera Constantine or C.C had already insinuated, with that diabolic smirk of her, that Lelouch was _Indeed_ a god among men, that his Campione status made him godly in more way, that he was equally "gifted" or hung or something among those lines, half of the time Kallen only wanted to throttle the dammed witch and her constant teasing, innuendos and smirk, there was something on her that rubs Kallen all the wrong ways. And both were deeply in love with the same boy, and that was going to be an interesting relationship to say the last.

Kallen was a little taken aback about how open they were with their relationship, C.C made out with Lelouch at every occasion they had, and Kallen, having to hide under her sick persona in the school, just was jealous, not that she would ever said that out loud or in front of the dammed green haired manipulative woman, it was just that Lelouch was her boyfriend too.

Finding a bit of time for themselves was starting to become a problem, specially with all the ideas and plans that Leouch had for the future, something that will have the Black Knights running like headless chicken for a while, until everything was settled nicely. Pretty much like the first time, now that she thought about it, the Black Knights didn't realize the kind of landmine they had stepped into until it was already too late to do anything about it; only at the end, everything start to go pear shaped, lies, half truths, the own traumas of everyone, specially Lelouchs, turn the perfect plan into a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

Kallen was as freaked out as the rest of the awakened, when Lelouch show them how only the intervention of a pair of deities could prevent the extinction of the earth as she knew it, how Utopia became Distopia at the blink of an eye, and how she died at the end, defending what she believed in and with his name in her lips. She was not the usual teenager girl, but even for her, she had to admit that her relationship with Lelouch was almost taken out of a Greek tragedy, and only now that he was a Campione could they begun to discover what did they miss in the first time line.

Opening the door of the room of her mom; a previous maid of the Stadtfelt mansion and mother of two of the children of Lord Stadtfelt, much to the chagrin of the Brittannian wife of the Lord that has yet to give birth to anything; she always smiled when she read the VIP plaque on the front of the door. It was one of the little privileges that Lelouch was granting to those under his eye, Kallens mom was; as far as every mainframe under Lelouch controls cares; a VIP in every place in Area Eleven, Albion and for what Kallen remembered about the latest conversation with Lelouch when they pause their passionate make out for a breath, some places of China.

Money was not a problem for the Campione, as soon as his powers got a grip onto the banking system of Area Eleven and Pendragon, Lelouch suck dry thousands of accounts and other actives, making himself practically the number one of the Fortune 500 overnight, and what was even better, no one had the slightest idea of what on earth has happened here.

Advantages of having a brain that could left the NASA supercomputers like hand calculators.

Kallen loved him when he was in his Zero Mode as she liked to call his actions and behavior when he was draped under the purple and black mantle of the leader of the Black Knights, being honest, she fell in love with Zero before than she even knew that Zero and Lelouch were the same person.

Having to act like another entirely person in the school, as the poor and sick Kallen Stadtfelt, a role that she hated with a passion, she could understand how different Zero and Lelouch were in the past, but now, in this new opportunity that Pandora has give Lelouch, Kalen has to admit that she loved both. Lelouch was honoring her promise and he was hiding nothing for her, none of her plans for the Black Kinghts and despite some of them were as subtle as a shotgun to the face, she had to admit that it feel good being part of the real planning and not a pawn; even if he always called her, his Queen; like she was in the past.

Softly humming an old song, she watered the flowers on the side desk of the bed of her mom, clean a little the place and sat on the sofa at the side of her mother, it was obscenely comfortable, her favorite spot to take a nap when she was too tired from the activities as Q-1, Kallen Kozuki or Kallen Stadtfelt.

And if she had her favorite plushy Lelouch near her, all for the better, Lelouch has already made the effort to come and visit her and her mom from time to time. Kallen once asked why didn't he used his Geass or _Authority _to awake her mother of his _Refrain_ induced coma, Lelouch sadly admitted that it would be like using a pile driver on her brain, his powers would awake her, but as soon as the powers left her, she would be back at square one or she would be forever a slave for Lelouch, tied to his [_**Black King]**_ and the mere idea nauseated him.

Although, with the appearance of Magnus, a fellow Campione of Lelouch, older and stronger than him by far in the C world; a brother of sorts for Lelouch that has taken human flesh to join them in the trenches, brought a light of hope for her, Magnus was the perfect physician and as soon as his duties with the Britannian army and the Black Knights allow him some free time, he promised to come and see what he could do for Kallens mother.

All the talk about deities and the sort was way over the head of Kallen, C world, Campiones, whatever; in essence, Lelouch managed to kill deities and instead of granting him Campione status, the deities that the C world represented, did all they could to transform the planet into a stagnant distopia. Jeremiah put it more simply terms, Lelouch scared them shitless and they run with the tail between their legs, waiting for a moment to transform the humanity into freaking zombies so no one would ever threat them like Lelouch or his father did with the Akasha sword.

Kallen almost exploded from rage, those arrogant deities, or whatever they were, in the C world were nothing but a bunch of spineless cowards that run from the truth and instead plotted to damn them all. Thanks to the explanation of Pandora, the C world and the mortal world are connected, they depend of each other for their continuous survival, with the disappearance of practically all the emotions except apathy, sadness and despair, the C world would collapse and with him, any human emotion and desire humanity could have.

In resume, they fucked themselves.

Kallen take a seat on the comfortable couch of the room, eying her mother with concern, she knew that she could recover, but at the same time, Kallen knew how dangerous _Refrain _was, how it messed with the mind and hearts of the people that used it. She was far from being a neurologist, but she was far too from being stupid, when the doctor explained to her what was wrong with her mother, she knew that she would need a lot of very expensive, very specific treatment and doctors. She did not say a word, yet Lelouch get an ear of it, and before she could even say a word, her mother was inside the best clinic of the Area Eleven with VIP privileges and soon she will be visited by Magnus, possibly, the best medic of the planet.

_Geass_ was unfair.

Even when Lelouch only had the _Geass _under his belt, it was an unfair advantage, not to mention how at the end, they were nothing but pawns in the hands of the gods of the C world and the idiocy of Scheneizel that was bored, and only wanted a worthy opponent for the throne. That blonde asshole was static when Lelouch killed the Emperor and put himself in his place, the Second Prince was already planning to do exactly the same, but instead of dirtying his hands and carry the burden himself like Lelouch did, he pretended Suzaku to be the murderer weapon.

Pretty much the resume of all the strategies of Scheneizel, make somebody else carries the burden of the deed, meanwhile he would be basking himself in his own brilliance, even if what he has done was more or less, convert the entire planet into Apatyland. Kallen fought, teeth and nails, against Scheneizel, but when he managed to get his greedy hands into a Code, everything was lost, there was no other double letters, so no more Geass that could evolve into a Code and give them a chance to counterattack.

She didn't make it to see if the empire of Scheneizel just went anywhere or it finally collapsed onto himself as no one gave a bloody damn about nothing, there was no point of doing anything, humanity was just cogs in an engine orchestrated by a madman that bore himself to the death by his own hands.

Kallen was no surprised when she learned how Lelouch mind broke at the picture, all what he has done was worthless, all the sacrifices, the blood, the betrayals, pain; all for nothing; as soon as Scheneizel broke his Geass everything went to hell in a fruit basket. Sighing for herself, Kallen took out some school notes, if she had to play the part of the poor sick, student, at last let her play the part of the poor, sick student with superb grades, although she would love a lot more to be back with the Black Knights kicking asses all around the Area, she knew that her appearance must be carefully planned.

Lelouch didn't want to leave nothing to the Lady Luck, enough had she already fuck him to tempt the destiny again, specially when the stakes were so blood damn high this time.

Lelouch was not only saving the present but the future as well, playing a two board chess game; one against mortals and the other against immortals.

The Campione was not a fool and despite the vigilance of Pandora over the C world like a hawk, C world was not down for the count, the cowards and spineless amalgamation of humanity that conformed the future preferred to extinct in safety than risk another _Sword of Akasha. _Frankly, Kallen found it mindblogging, they had chosen to die, and those minds or spirits or gods or whatever the hell they were, just wanted to comfortable vanish under a couple of million years that live to the full, despite the risk of another _Sword of Akasha_ or the return of the Campiones and the supernatural forces that they pretty much all but liquefied into _Geass and Codes._

Kallen could admit that she was nothing but a speck of dust in the face of the universe, but if somebody asked her, she would choose a plentiful life, full of emotions and your own effort over the cattle like life that the C world choose in the past for the entire humanity. Although, the C world was the representation of all humanity, so in essence that apathetic existence was that humanity wanted.

Now, Kallen need an aspirin.

Grumbling under her breath as she practically did her homework on autopilot, Kallen thought about the next steps of the Black Knights. This weekend was the debut of the Black Knights, and she would be lying if she said that she was not giggling at the idea. It was the time when they went public; up to a point of course; and became a mayor power player on the Area Eleven, specially after the dramatic reunion that Lelouch had with the Six Houses, the Kyoto Houses; when he pulled a Knightmare gun in the face of Kirihara Taizo and force them to support his rebellion.

Kallen had to admit that she freaked out when Lelouch took that one out of his bag, and now that she remembers it, it was one of the times that she knew how C.C played as Lelouch from time to time, when Lelouch need a cover from his disappearances from the school. With a giggle, Kallen blushed thinking how it was going to be impossible now; once Lelouch became a Campione, his body, thanks to one of his powers, one that he inherited from his Campione brother Magnus; became the epitome of human perfection. When She and Lelouch made out, at each occasion they had, and she let her hands roam free trough all his body, she knew how firm and deliciously ripped his body was now.

"_Oh, yeah, momma likes..."_ giggled to herself Kallen, hiding her blush under her hands, with a smile in her face.

Being honest, they had not pass from first base, sure as hell, their make out sessions were starting to became raunchier and raunchier but they had not had sex yet; that infuriating witch of C.C does not loss a chance to tease her about how endowed Lelouch was and how much he could last in the shack.

In a more polite way of course, not with that same language, but the core of the innuendo was clear.

Lelouch was a god in the bed, and C.C was enjoying every single second that they pass together.

And that line of thought made Kallen ramble a little, and ponder the topic of the little harem that Lelouch constructed himself in the past and in the present. He loved her, that was a proven fact, no doubt about it.

However, she was not the only one that had a piece of the heart of Lelouch, that dammed Casanova managed to sweep off their feet a lot of ladies, starting with herself.

Making a quick list, Kallen grimaced a little for the amount of numbers.

She was first, Lelouch called her Queen after all, so she was first, second place was for C.C, as much as Kallen wanted to beat the crap out of the smirking witch, Lelouch loved her a lot and she loved him, more than anything she had loved before; or so she claimed, with C.C nothing was for granted.

Third place was for Shirley, she was on the list too, Kallen had confronted thoughts about the orange haired bombshell; she was a Brittannian, the kind of spoiled brats that Kallen should hate, but Shirley was nothing of the sort, mind you that she was a bit clumsy and an airhead but she was compassionate, kind and had not an ounce of malice in her body. She was a cheerful girl, trying to make the best she could with her life.

Her was one of the biggest tragedies of the Rebellion; used as pawn by Mao, her head altered with Lelouch _Geass_ so she would never remember that the assassin of her father was none other than the boy she had a crush the size of the entire Area 11. Then, the Emperor made her forget Nuna, and then she fell in love with Lelouch again, even after Jeremiah hit her by accident with a wave of his _Geass Canceller_; despite she only wanted to help the boy she loved, Rolo got to her first and put a bullet in her chest, killing her after she died from blood loss in the arms of Lelouch.

Fate had an ax to grind with the Fenette family.

Thing is, that Kallen couldn't bring her to hate the orangette, she has already shown her that she was not the usual, "I am Brittannian, bow to my superiority" bullshit that half the empire buys by the tons, instead she was a very upbeat girl that doesn't care about Areas or nationalities. And in this time line, Lelouch has already told Kallen how he was going to do the impossible to keep her father safe, and do not allow her to became the pawn of anybody.

Although Kallen would have love to hear from him how he was not romantically interested in Shirley, Lelouch fulfilled his promise to her and confess that if she had not died the first time, Lelouch would have gladly dated and know better the cheerful girl.

Kallen sighed and put aside her finished home works.

She really liked how Lelouch was way more open with his emotions and thoughts with her this time around, on the other hand, not always did she like what Lelouch says.

Not to mention Kallen suspected that Lelouch was basically doing the same that he did in the past but in a lot more controlled form than the first time. He keeps bottling his emotions, in a different form, but she knew that Lelouch loathed himself for what he did in the past, the consequences of the Rebellion, the F.R.E.Y.A, the death of so many friends and loved ones and of course, the resulting Empire of Everything is worth a shit that born from the idiocy of Scheneizel.

Kallen wanted to help his beloved, she loved Lelouch, loved him deeply, she did in the past and now they can really confess what they truly feel.

Once again, she really would like to have a lot less competition than she actually had.

That witch of C.C was a given, Shirley still was a little in the air and possibly Kaguya-sama would be a lot more proactive this time around as soon as she got an ear of the new and improved presence of Lelouch.

Of course, there could be more women that could have caught his fancy, specially when she just throw himself into a dating frenzy, even today, Kallen laughed at the image of Lelouch running like a headless chicken between girls that had managed to convince Sayoko; who was impersonating Lelouch at the time; to give them a yes to a date.

Well, she felt a ping of jealousy that she managed to hide pretty well, but the point was that she doubted that among any of those fan-girls did Lelouch found a diamond. On the other hand, his father did have one hundred and eight concubines, and he was nothing but a mortal man; Lelouch was a Campione, meaning, practically a demigod, how many concubines needs a demigod?.

Incapable of lying herself, Kallen admitted in her inner mind, that she did not want to be part of such a joke, one thing was the harem of sort that Lelouch had, she could, begrudgingly, get behind a thing like that, mostly because she knew all the other girls, they were good girls and Lelouch had a real, emotional bond with all of them. She would have to had a chat with the Campione to settle some base rules about this harem of his, Kallen was not one to experiment, despite how much C.C practically rape her with her eyes each time that she puts on her pilot suit, and she wanted to be sure that Lelouch shared her emotions. On the last part, she was convinced that Lelouch loved her with all his heart, the changes on the boy, in comparison with the boy that she meet in the previous time line was like night and day, being completely honest with herself, she liked Campione Lelouch a lot more than the previous one.

The fact that the boy was a Grade-A stud was only a bonus in her book, after all, she did try her best to made the past Lelouch exercise, arguing that he couldn't finish a damn lap during P.E classes without him almost losing a lung in the process. A commotion outside of the room called her attention, forcing her to get out of her thoughts about where did she stood among the harem of Lelouch and how many more girls did he pretend to add to the crowd.

Frowning, as this was a clinic, not a damn bar, she rose from the comfortable couch on where she was sitting and walked to the door, not after checking her mom one more time to see that she was as good as she could be, despite being in a coma.

She opened the door of the room, exiting to the white and cream colored walls of the hall, following the noises that she had heared from inside her mothers room, she did not need to look out much, as soon as she got into the reception desk, near the entrance of the building, she could see a couple of Japanese fellows, shouting at the scared receptionist.

Once she got closer, she saw how a bunch of people like her; people that were visiting the people being treated in the center; were exiting from their rooms, trying to see what was all this fuss about.

At first sight, Kallen suspected that it was one of those occasions on were the Brittannian denied any help to any Eleven, just by principle more than any real and logic reasons; however, she knew that this center was not one of those kind, in fact the poor receptionist, was a cute Japanese girl, a polite and professional nurse that was trying to reason with the shouting pair. None of the people of the rooms move closer, as no one of them wanted any more problems that they already have, from the corner of the eyes, she caught a glimpse of one of the security guards at the other side of the hall, starting to move to take care of the shouting pair.

In any other circumstances, Kallen would have let them sort this out by themselves, she was not the hot headed girl that she was in the past, well, not all the time; she still had her temper but with the shit she had to deal with in her past live, she had learned the virtue of patience and see things thorough instead of charging head first into the danger.

She loved her country, her Japan, however, she knew that not all the Japanese people shared her thoughts, there was a lot of people, even among the Black Knights that were nothing but leeches trying to take advantage of the situation and made a profit at the expenses of their own compatriots. In the past, she hunted the _Refrain_ smugglers with a passion, hunting them like a starving wolf; in this time line, she did that too, but in more organized, efficient manner, specially after Lelouch purged the entire organization of the Black Knights of any possible, leeches, lazy bums, fake freedom fighters and in general, anyone that could be more and liability than an asset.

The numbers were surprisingly high once he finished, but thanks to his _Geass _and his _Authority_ it was short work for him. She feared that the shouting duo at the entrance were a couple of _Refrain_ junkies looking out for a dose or in the middle of the abstinence syndrome, making them dangerous for themselves and anyone unfortunate enough to be around them when the abstinence syndrome hit them like a train.

Seeing that none of the present were with any intentions of get involved in the shouting, she eyed the security guard and lean over the nearest wall, waiting to see if her intervention will be needed. She was not overconfident, far from it, specially when she had experimented the presence of Lelouch when he is in his Campione mode; but at the same time, she had the memories of her past self, the memories of a woman that has been trained by some of the most dangerous people on the planet and took that lessons to the heart. Her younger body was not as prepared as her older, more trained, one but the skills are still there, and it was only a matter of get into shape once again, something that she could do anytime that she was not playing the sick and frail Stadtfelt.

The security guard of the center reached the reception desk and divert the attention of the shouting men from the nurse to him, trying to make them understand that this was like a hospital, one can not enter shouting inside like this was a freaking football stadium.

Curiously, the guard was Japanese, a nice touch for a clinic that deals with a lot of Japanese _Refrain_ addicts in a regular basis, it was clever, making the majority of the intern more comfortable with a fellow Japanese than a foreign Brittannian that already have a very nasty reputation.

Kallen was about to get back into her room, to put her homework in her backpack and continue taking care of her mom at the same time she tried to sort her feelings about Lelouchs harem when she noticed an odd thing about one of the two intruders. As one of them was shouting like a madman, Kallen really did not pay attention to his ramblings so she had no idea what was all the fuss was about, the other was curiously quiet and when the guard faced the shouting one, the quiet one just moved.

Right at the perfect spot to attack the guard in the back.

Kallen snarled mentally, this was stupid, they were Japanese too, why harm a poor guard that was just doing his job?.

The red headed girl moved at the same time that the second man took a gun out of his jacket.

It was a piece of garbage, a mere glimpse of the weapon and Kallen knew that it was something practically taken out from a dumper, the gun was rusty, the trigger was full of cracks, the cannon of the weapon had a nick and a bump at the mouth and the hammer was out of angle.

If that things shoots it would be a miracle, however, it only needed one single shot to kill the guard, specially with a point blank shoot on the back like the second intruder was planning to do.

He took the weapon out of his jacket and Kallen kicked it out of his hand before he could press the trigger, the kick was directed against the wrist of the man, who did not expect the sudden attack and had to let the weapon go or the force of the kick would have broken his wrist.

Furiously glaring at the girl that had kicked his hand, he sent a punch her way.

Kallen reaffirmed herself on the idea that they were a pair of desperate junkies looking for the next fix, their scrawny looks, their bloodshot eyes and the desperation that they practically exuded was all that she need to deduct what the hell were they doing here. Easily dodging his punch, Kallen elbowed him in the chest, entering in his guard and leaving him breathless, before punching him in retaliation in the guts and the jaw, with a nasty hook to the liver and a brutal uppercut to the under jaw.

The uppercut punched the man lights out as soon as the fist of Kallen connected with his jaw, but Kallen had to suppress a hiss of pain, her hands were not as strong as they were, when one of her masters helped her to harden her knuckles and hands to make her fists like iron hammers.

It was a painful training but the rewards were totally worth it.

She waved her pained right hand, frowning at the unconscious form of the man in the floor, noticing the eyes of everybody in the hall looking at her, she just raise and eyebrow at their looks and replied with a simple:

"What?, they were noisy and were annoying the patients".

Area Eleven Port/Warehouse 50

"_So far, so good"_ were the thoughts of Ohgi, as he observed the entrance of a half a dozen shiny new knightmares entering in the spacious warehouse.

If a week ago, somebody told him that he was going willingly enter into an unknown organization that lefts the JLF look like amateurs, he would have laughed his ass off and ask for a swing of whatever the hell, the speaker was smoking.

Now?, now he was the one with his entire universe behind trampled, burned and ashes scattered to the wind.

But he was a happy man.

The resistance group that he leaded was on their last leg, the Shinjuku Ghetto carnage would have practically ended them, if it wasn't for the appearance of Zero, all of them would be already dead.

Zero, Ohgi was scared shitless of that man, he was not human, nothing human could do half the things he could do; not mention the _Geass, _and that presence of him, Ohgi felt like he was staring at one of those Bengal tigers of the zoo but without a safety glass between them. Mind you that he was strangely comforted by the presence of Zero, it was reassuring to have such a monster like that on your side, but at the same time, he felt that there was something more than he was not telling them. He was too good to be true, there was something else going on, something that he wanted to ask but with a monster like Zero around, well, it was no easy feat to come by and say; " hi, what´s all this truly about?, you know, you are a fucking god walking among mortals and you just help us out for free?".

It was never a good moment to made any kind of damn questions, much less when the one you are about to ask scare the shit out of you with a mere glare of that purple and black visor of his, even if there was a very good reason why he ever dress that helmet. For a humble man like Ohgi, the idea of living like that was complete nightmare, always had to be extremely cautious or you could provoke a lot of harm to a lot of innocent people even if it was the last thing you had in your mind at the time. Ohgi saw the next truck arriving at the warehouse and call for some workers around to help him unload the cargo.

If nothing, the Black Knights are generously supplied, weapons, food, frames, everything that any freedom fighter could ask for, it was there, however was the logistic genius behind all this, Ohgi had to admit he really knew how to do his job perfectly. Ohgi, mind you, was completely oblivious about how the rest of the Black Knights consider him a second in command already, not only because Zero put a lot of work over his shoulders, but for the fact that he had no qualms in get into the trenches and help the lesser ranks of the Black Knights with all kind of menial tasks, like unloading the trucks with the supplies or to help carry the containers of batteries for the frames.

Speaking of that same frames, it was the first batch ever produced in the underground factory of Lelouch, a collaboration between him and Doctor Chawla, the Indian genius that has been somehow convinced to lend her prodigal mind to the Black Knights.

There were a lot of rumors about how on earth did Zero managed to convinced the brown skinned woman, and at the beginning Ohgi feared that Zero may have used his _Geass _to turn the woman into a loyal minion, but Zero soon advertized his doubts and put them to rest when he told him how he had managed to won the loyalty of the extravagant woman by simply win her at her own game. When _Clarent _and the _Guren Mk-I_ may their entrance in the training grounds that the Black Knights owned outside of the city, Ohgi understood what Zero was talking about, there was something directly scary in those two monsters, the crimson colored _Guren _and the black and gold _Clarent._

Being an ex-teacher, Ohgi was a solid foundation of knowledge and the moment he heared for the first time the name of Zeros machine, he smirked and thought how deeply ironic it was.

_Clarent_ was a sword whose legend was root into the Arthurian legends, a sword forged to peace that was corrupted by Mordred and used to end Camelot and murder King Arthur in battle.

Now, a monster was using a machine with the same name, to put an end to an Empire that shared the name of the mythical lands from where the Arthurian mythology spawned.

Irony was tick in here.

Sharing some good humored jokes with the workers, Ohgi get behind the wheel of one of the machines of the warehouse and start to move the containers with the batteries, so all the dozen of _Shutherlands _will have an equal share of the supplies, allowing them to act like a unit, unless one of the pilots burns the fuel faster than the rest. Not really the first time, and Ohgi was more than grateful for the unlimited pockets of his leader, otherwise the new recruits with little real training in piloting would burn the batteries faster than one could drill some sense into their eager heads.

At the beginning, with the influx of new recruits from the rest of practically wiped out resistance groups, Ohgi and the rest of the original group had his hands full with newbies and hard asses that just wanted to dance the same dance as always but this time with the money of Zero. The party ended soon, when Zero personally spoke with each one of them, explaining them, very clearly and very concisely how were they going to do things from now on, the few that actually were beyond saving or simply were a bunch of lazy fuckers hiding under the freedom banner to do whatever they want, were soon out of the Black Knights.

Ohgi, Tamaki, Inoue, Yoshida and the rest of the survivors of the Shinjuku skirmish were pretty much convinced that Zero has used his _Geass _to silent all of those bad weeds before they do something that everybody will regret; they were uncomfortable with the idea but it was that or putting a bullet in their brains, something that none of them would ever do, at last to a fellow Japanese.

The Brittannian military was fair game for what they care.

That was one of the rules of the Black Knights, if you believe that a cool uniform mean free pass for harassing innocent people, no matter the nationality, then Zero in person will beat the crap out of you, and considering how the man was able to sweep the floor with all the ground soldiers of the Black Knights with a hand on his back, it was a serious menace. The Black Knights were not a professional army yet, they lack the training and the experience of the JLF, still, there was a lot of soldiers in the new ranks and all of them were easily beaten by Zero, even with him wearing his stylish dress and cape, allowing Zero to demonstrate that he was not a poser and had no problems in beat them into shape if it is what is needed.

Not really needed a second demonstration, after the beat down he dished to the best fighters of the organization, still, they were on serious need of pilots, almost all the professional pilots of Frames were on the JLF. It had sense, considering how the army did his best to train pilots for Frames as fast as efficient as they could, just to be in equal grounds with the Brittannian army, a feat that very few had managed to accomplish.

Japan had an advantage over other countries in the Frame development department, thanks to the unique material that Sakuradite was, Ohgi was a cultured man, but even him only knew the text book definition of the strange but limitless substance that served to create the battlefield terrors that were the Knightmares.

Japan was one of the major mining centers of the invaluable mineral, the basis of the technology that give birth to the Frames that Brittannia deployed in the battlefield and revolutionized the concept of warfare. Now a day, it was impossible to do not see Frames in the armies of the nations of the world, their mere presence send the enemy ground soldiers morale to the floor, only another Frame could destroy a Frame in the battlefield.

Not entirely true, but the Brittannian propaganda machine has already sold that idea to the entire world, when they deploy the first Frame models into the Pacific wars a decade ago, turning the war into a slaughterhouse. Few of the actual Black Knights had real battle experience, or better said, real battle experience against Frames, so few of them could actually understand the destruction and mayhem that those machines could unleash even when they only had a half an hour battery time.

Most of the Black Knights of today were guerrilla fighters, more comfortable with a gun in a concrete ruin than in a base with the Frames running around.

Ohgi knew that, as he was one of aforementioned persons, the Frames scared him, he has saw enough blood at the hands of those machines to know perfectly well how truly fearsome they are, but for leading a revolution like this to its end, the Black Knight need these machines. However, the former teacher would love to know how in Kamis name, has Zero managed to bring them a dozen of shiny new _Sutherland _Frames, directly from the factory to this private warehouse that the BPF (Brittannian Police Force) evades like it was the plague.

Zero _Geass_ most probably, but everyone in the warehouse was more than happy to see the police Frames and patrols far from the place, it could be a complete disaster if one of those corrupt monkeys found the place and reveal one their bases to the military. Specially now that the Witch of Brittannia was in Japan and practically leading a man hunt of epic proportions over the head of Zero.

Everyone that knew of the existence of _Geass_ suspected that if it was not for the supernatural power, they would have already been caught and exterminated like the rest of the resistance group that had flip the middle finger to Zero and keep doing the things their way. As sad as the news of the rest of the groups' extermination were, the Black Knights shrugged their shoulders and took in the survivors, but not after make sure that they really are of use; if anything, Zero was all about efficiency and dedication to the cause, any fool looking for an excuse to just sat around and blabber about liberty fighters would be broken and reshaped into a proper Black Knight as soon as possible.

One of the things that intrigued the core of the Black Knights, was why Zero did just not use his magic eye on the Witch of Brittannia and call it a day; Tamaki being the one that brought the idea into the table, and despite the man was not the sharpest knife around he had a point.

Zero has done nothing but help them to became a real freedom fighters, a real revolution that could free Japan from the clutches of the Empire, but at the same time, none of the Black Knights had the slightest idea of who was the person under the black visor, not to mention almost all of them were scared of him.

Well, scared would be a wrong word, wary would be more appropriate.

All the Black Knights knew that Zero was as determined as them to put an end to the Brittannian tyranny over Japan or Area Eleven like they liked them to call the proud country; still, and despite all the things that united them, Zero was a mystery for them. Not that he was unapproachable, he was always polite with anyone that spoke to him, be it for official business or simply asking a question, but even then, his aura, his presence, whatever you wanted to call it, was always pushing everybody around him like a blanket.

Heck, Ohgi was half of the time fighting against the urge of kneel each time he had to pass a report of the status of the Black Knight to Zero, somehow it was fitting, they were knights and he was the black king of the revolution, as poetic as it sounds, Ohgi did not want to trade a monster for another. As much as he wanted to believe, Ohgi was already lost any faith in miracles and humanity in general; being forced as leader of a resistance group, a role that he was ill suited to undertake and was not among his plans for the future, but now he had something that he had lost years ago when Naoto died, now he had hope.

Zero, the creature or whatever that hide under the black and purple was one that could realize Naotos dream of a free Japan, he was all the prayers of the rebels combined and for the first time in almost a decade, Ohgi allowed himself to dream in a better future.

Hope is a wonderful thing.

Viceroy Palace/Medic Ward.

Magnus was eying an old scan of the legs of his latest patient, aka Nunnally Vi Brittania, and he couldn't but frown.

There was something very wrong with these results, this was not what his _Geass,_ absolute healing, told him about the extent of the damages of the crippled girl.

When the girl was shot along her mother, she suffered severe wounds, and when the bombs fall over her head, she got some extra shrapnel on the already more than enough punished legs; in resume, she should not be able to walk again, unless she was put under severe surgery to implant prosthetic or cyber limbs that could allow her to lead a normal life.

Magnus has already sworn that he would heal the girl completely in two weeks, that she would be able to dance with Lelouch in two weeks tops, his _Geass _was a very powerful one but this time he would have to force the limits of it a little.

Flesh or metal?, that was the question that he was asking himself now.

Flesh, at last in his opinion, was always better but if you look out for maximum efficiency without caring about some sacrifices along the way, metal was the correct option.

A couple of cyber legs would be faster, easier and safer to implant, Nunnally would be walking in three days and after that a week or so of therapy so she can adjust to the mechanical parts and voila, she was cured.

But Magnus did not feel satisfied with that, that was the easier, quicker way of doing things, and sure, this was a safer way to proceed, one that would grant the girl one of her deepest desires but at the same time, it was not what she really wanted. She wanted to walk along her brother, to be able to walk along him and do not be prostrated to the chair and her blindness.

Nunnally was a girl whose soul was made of steel, she was making the best of her life with the resources and skills she had, she did love her brother and Sayoko for the love and care that they give to her, but she hated her invalid state, her blindness, her crippled legs, her need to move around in a wheelchair.

Magnus _Geass_ not only cures body, but mind as well, it was the final evolution of his _Geass_ and when he made a body for himself, he took good care of hide the avian symbols of his eyes, making them appear as common and normal eyes.

Once he could perform a medical check up in Nunnally he not only saw and diagnosis her body but her mind as well, he was quite impressed with the force of character of the girl, leagues above even professional soldiers, only her brother and older sisters surpassing her.

That idiotic emperor Charles didn't have the slightest idea of the kind of diamonds that he was wasting, Lelouch, Nunnally, Cornelia, Euphemia, those four were pure gems, a little rough on the edges and with a lot of antics and manias that comes with the knowledge that your are Brittannian royalty.

Magnus was the only medic allowed to treat either Cornelia or Euphemia when they are wounded or sick, a measure that has shock more than one high rank Brittannian officer but after how the reports of the legendary skills and competence of the man reach them; not to mention how Cornelia would shoot them if they dared to speak; all doubts were erased. Not that Magnus give a flying fuck about the matter, he was a medic and he swore the Hippocratic oath, so he would continue to heal the soldiers of his regiment as usual, not really caring about origins, ranks or whatever they wanted to discriminate one from the other.

In a sense, Magnus suspected that he had planted a seed of rebellion in the mind of Cornelia when he kept healing any soldier; honorary Brittannian and real Brittannians; with identical effectiveness, much to her chagrin; Cornelia never really bought all that social Darwinism that her father preached, more concerned about keeping her little sister safe and now, finding her favorite siblings back home. If only, the poor lass had an idea of who was truly Lelouch...

With a deeper frown, the tall man took a seat on the couch of his desk, leaving the scans over the surface of the wooden desk and glaring at them like they had offended him, and in a sense, they had done precisely that. Magnus Blacksson was the base for the actual Magnus Frostsson; among the traits that both shared was the proud they both take in their works, in the case of Blacksson to be the Jarl and protector of his people and in the case of Frostsson his medical skills.

And right now, the scans done by the medics that treated the wounds of Nunnally were an offense for his pride as medic. First of all, they did not treat the wounds or remove the subtle pieces of shrapnel that the high caliber bullets left on her flesh, just clean and bandage, something so basic that it was a miracle that the girl did not day from blood poisoning the same day. There was something seriously wrong on all this, as part of the family of Lelouch, not his blood one but his supernatural one, as fellow ex-Campione, Magnus took very seriously the responsibility to keep his family as healthy as he could.

And this was one of the things that would have made him pick a rusty ax and neuter each one of the fools that did such a botched up job with Nunnally. He opened the carpet with the scans and the documents that Lelouch managed to recover from him from the OSI files, the same place where he got his X-ray about the day his father broke his shoulder when he defied him after the death of Marianne _The Flash_, the mother of both Nunnally and Lelouch and a complete nutjob if Magnus had ever seen one.

Softly rapping over the papers and scans, Magnus shrugged, closed the carpet toss it into the deepest corner of the bottom drawer of his desk and raise from the chair, walking to the freezer on where fresh blood samples, and other medical supplies and medicines were kept.

Along a dozen of mead bottles.

For Magnus, that was the best medicine that existed and only thanks to the deep pockets of Lelouch did he managed to get a cargo of real Norwegian mead, it was as hard to find as the teeth of an owl and equally expensive, but when your boss had the deepest pockets of the planet, it was only a matter of payment and delivery. Lelouch loved the drink as much as him, perhaps consequence of being the first real liquid he drunk after being released from the torment dimension on where the C world kept him, any case, Magnus was glad that his Campione brother shared his tastes, it makes a lot more easy to get them.

Opening the freezer, he took one of the bottles and uncorked it without ceremonies, gulping down half of the liquid in one go, before closing the door of the refrigerator, he sighed in content, getting back to the chair and slumping on it, pondering about what could be the best way to proceed with his plan to heal both Nunnally and Lelouch demons at the same time. He left the half empty bottle over the desk and pick up from another drawer a carpet with the latest reports about the wounds that a couple of squads suffered when they cleared a resistance movement base somewhere in the ghettos, at the rate they were going, Magnus started to think that there will be no more Elevens at the end of the current campaign.

He had little work to do with those squads, they were Frames squads, a _Gloucester _followed by four _Shutterlands; _a powerful and effective combination nowadays, that could cover most of the battle needs that the pilots could have. Unfortunately when you are a pilot of a Frame, either you eject and end with nothing but scratches and bruises or the ejection system fails or gets broken during combat and you are practically a dead man walking inside a very expensive metal suit.

One Japanese guerrilla managed to put a homemade explosive slash harkon into one of the sides of a _Sutherland_ killing the pilot in a second, so that was the only real report that he has to write apart from his recommendation to a couple of days of R&amp;R so they could make their mind about their fallen comrade, pick up a replacement and get back into service.

It resulted in a very funny autopsy.

Minced meat, would be the most appropriate description of what´s left of the poor fucker that get hit by the homemade slash harkon, the head of the missile hit the cabin and when the blades of the head of the missile open, the hook torn the pilot apart at point blank. He was chopped in five pieces before he could ever sense what the fuck was going on, Magnus recommendation was to incinerate the corpse, so the family would not recover something more proper from a butchshop than their family member.

Magnus hated bureaucracy, he hated it as Blacksson and he hated it even more as Frostsson, that was one of the few things that he really missed of the old times, in his kingdom there was not tons of government employes filling innumerable paper with words and words, signing and signing paper after paper for even the most basic requirements. It was a good thing that he was in good graces with the smugglers that made business with the soldiers of Cornelias regiment, specially after he healed a couple of them of nasty bullet wounds from the BPF when they were trying to smuggle some ammo and Frame size hand weapons out of the city and into China and Australia.

He would need their help to get some special pieces of tech for him, cybers, apart from the military grade ones, are not a very popular option in the prosthetic industry, the civilians usually don't have the money that is needed to replace an arm or a leg or an inner organ like heart or lungs. With that in mind a lot of soldiers, infantry soldiers, that had to fight trough the places where the Frames could not access like sewers, dense forests and caves, are stating to welcome the idea of cybers, mostly because no one wanted to be an invalid and despite the cold feel of the metal, it was a fine replacement, even better than the original in some scenarios, specially if you are an infantry soldier.

One of the best examples he could remember was Jeremiah, the Order put the poor sod trough the grinder a dozen of times, implanting several physical upgrades and cyber replacements, up to the point that more than sixty percent of his body was made of metal, including a _Geass Canceller, _body armor, a hidden blade in the arms and data connectors in his neck so he could directly link his mind to the Frame called Siegfried_, _practically a floating fortress.

Curiously enough, Jeremiah and him had become good friends in the time that he joined the Black Knights, mostly because they were both of similar age and experienced soldiers; Magnus remembered he should have a chat with the Margrave. Jeremiah was a man of flesh and bone now, he didn't have his _Geass Canceller_ neither any of his upgrades and despite he had the memories of the past future, his body was not capable of following the exigences that he put his mechanical body in the past.

It was troublesome but Magnus suspected that Jeremiah would gladly offer himself to the Order just to recover his upgrades to protect his family, even if it cost him almost his entire humanity in the process. So far, there was nothing that Magnus could do, unfortunately, he was just a medic in a military corps, enough was he going to push his contacts to get the cybers he need for Nunnally if the girl wanted cybers and not flesh legs.

Speaking of flesh, growing new body parts was never an easy feat, specially the nerves, that always hurt like a bitch; first the bone, then the flesh, muscle and nerves; when they reconnected with the brain, the pain receptors are back with a vengeance.

He knew it very well, he has been regenerating pieces of his body for two years know, from lost limbs to bullet holes in a lot of places of his body, never a pleasant experience, specially when the wounds took out organs or turn his brain into paste. He was practically immortal but contrary to the _Code_ that C.C possessed, he was not eternal, he will age well, but he will age and in time he will die of old age like any other mortal, just like he wanted it to be, eternity is vastly overrated, after the first thousand years, a lot of immortals start to lost taste of life, becoming nothing but empty husk or going mad with all kind of obsessions and craziness.

Signing the report, he tossed it over the desk, later will he put it into the mail system to get it into the archives, they will upload it into the records of the squad and actualize the status of the squad for future deployments in Area Eleven, of course Lelouch will know of it as soon as it hits the database.

Frankly speaking, all that mumbo-jumbo that Lelouch uses about computers, databases and all that crap was way over the head of Magnus, that had an innate prejudice against all kind of tech, inherited from Blacksson; the older Campione belonged to an era were the mere idea of technology was nothing with a dream in the minds of the insane ones.

As human living being in this era, he had to learn how to manipulate, at last on a basis level, those same computers and other appliances that most of the time he found useless or distracting at their best, specially T.V, Yggdrasil protect him, the T.V that was the most dangerous monster that he has ever found.

Taking his bottle from the desk, he slowly took a sip as reward for the work done, and was about to call it a day and get some food before hitting his bed, when the door of his office opened.

He has only been in the office for two days, when Cornelia kicked out the previous Palace doctor and told him; better said strong arming him into the post; to took care of the medical ward, much to Magnus displeasure who was already busy enough with the regiment needs and lending a hand to the Black Knights.

In the first day he scared into submission all the personnel of the medical ward, letting them know; crystal clear; that any screw up and they will end stitching wounds in the worst camps of Area 4; efficiency was their new religion now and he expected them to be fucking zealots.

This was his second day in the office, barely treating some minor wounds and bruises from the soldiers that train in the gym and some minor cases of fatigue and stress from the technicians of the Frame bay and the H.Q.

So, when the Li Brittania siblings entered into his office, he raise and eyebrow and discretely hide the bottle in one of the empty drawers of his desk, Cornelia hated when someone tries to slip past the rules and technically, Magnus was still on duty. Cornelia was frowning and huffing to Euphemia, the older sibling was sporting a swollen right hand and the younger was practically dragging her, trying to reason with her.

It was not a secret for Magnus that this two ladies were fanatically devoted to the other safety, specially Cornelia, protecting her younger sibling like a momma bear would protect her cubs, and there was good reasons for such actions, as Zero suggested when he talked with Cornelia, only the protection of the Goddess of Victory of Brittannia prevent anybody to use Euphemia as a political hostage or a bargain chip.

Still, what did surprise a little Magnus; and he had to made a double take to confirm that his eyes were not lying to him; was the attire that Cornelia was dressing at the moment.

Euphemia was dress in a comfortable and homey white and green dress, she loved to dress casually once she was out of the eyes of the public or the soldiers, specially because that helped him more than once to slips past the guards that her sister assign to her, when she wanted to experience the world outside of the Imperial Family.

Cornelia on the other hand, took her role of Goddess of Victory very seriously and she was never caught dressed in something that was not her military attire or similar clothes and garments.

So, when she appeared in her office, dress in nothing but a sweated training white shirt and purple and tight shorts, Magnus was surprised to say the least and couldn't but appreciate; in the safety of his mind, otherwise she would put a bullet in her head for the slightest comment; how beautiful Cornelia truly was.

She had an hourglass figure, with a fit body and softly plump lips; without her usual purple lipstick; her purple hair was collected in a ponytail, leaving her angelic features, even under the sweat and pained expression she had, clear to be seen.

Supermodels would kill for a figure half as good as the one of Cornelia.

Raising from his chair, Magnus moved to the siblings, ready to see what has Cornelia done to herself this time.

The Second Princess of the Empire was not one that runs from danger, quite the opposite, she usually charges at the head of her armies into the enemy lines, leaving nothing but corpses and havoc behind her, that was one of the reasons she was called the Witch of Brittannia and the Goddess of Victory.

So far, she only had a couple of close calls, and in one of those occasions, Magnus had to handcuff the woman to the stretcher before he could administer the antidote for the poison that an assassin managed to nick her with, a nasty thing that one, curare, a classic that is hard to heal if you don't know what kind of mix is present in the poison. Once again, absolute healing _Geass_ saved the day and Magnus managed to inoculate the Princess an antidote before the paralysis reached her lungs. If he had not saved her life, he was pretty sure Cornelia would have put him into a Martial court for handcuffing a princess to a stretcher, but in all, she put it under the carpet, took the medic under her wing and drag him to all the campaigns she had been since they meet that day.

"Good evening Princess" said Magnus turning on one of the lamps of the office, so he could put the appearance of a medical examination, it does soothe the nerves of his patients, instead of just staring at them with his _Geass _and then proceed to treat them with one hundred percent success.

"Evening Magnus" chirped in Euphemia " I bring you a very stubborn girl, would you so kind to tell her that she need to have her hand checked by a real medic?".

"Euphy" growled Cornelia with a soft blush in her cheeks, not really accustom to be the one dragged around.

"Gladly, Princess" said Magnus opening one of the nearby drawers to reveal all kind of bandaged and balsams.

People could say a lot of things of the deceased Prince Clovis, but he was not an entire idiot and considering his flamboyant style of life, it was not a surprise that the medic ward of the Viceroy Palace was one of the top of the art clinics that Magnus has never seen.

"I'm okay" protested Cornelia but she flinched and gritted her teeth when Euphemia poked with her middle finger her swollen hand.

"You were saying?" she raised an eyebrow and Cornelia huffed before taking a seat on the chair in front of Magnus.

For the old Nordmanni, Cornealia was more beautiful now than when she had to wear all those medals and uniform of the Brittannian army but he took good care of keeping his opinions for himself. Magnus keep his face neutral, to do not aggravate the mood of Cornelia, the woman already had a temper like a volcano and there was a lot of very fragile material around, the last thing he needed was the woman to throw a fit and broke something that he will need in the future.

It was ironically funny, how the woman only showed those displays of affection and emotions around the very few people that she actually gave a damn about, it was a very short list and Magnus was not entirely sure if he was among the names of that list.

"Tell me lass, how did you managed to almost broke your hand?" asked Magnus, as soon as he saw the hand, he knew that Cornelia was lucky of not having two or three fingers broken or the knuckles turned to dust " have you been punching a Frame?".

"More or less" chuckled Euphemia at her side, as Cornelia glared at her.

"Understood" shrugged Magnus, preferring the blessing of the ignorance before antagonizing the princess, however he need to know for a perfect treatment.

Carefully picking the swollen hand of Cornelia, he softly touched the wrist and the palm of the hand looking for any more complications, his _Geass_ already informed of how the muscles were the most damaged and a couple of bones of the middle and index finger had tiny cracks on them, along a lot of cracks into the knuckles. She had punched a training dummy with strength enough to almost broke her hand, he shuddered to think in what state the dummy was now and what could have happened if instead of a training dummy there was a living person on the receiving end of such a blow.

"This will hurt for a second lass" said Magnus before pinching a couple of nerves, numbing the sensations of the hands of Cornelia and resetting the loose bones of her fingers.

With a loud snap, the hand of the princess was already back in place, however, for Euphemia, the sound has been terrific enough, meanwhile Cornelia hissed in pain and then relaxed as the pain started to numb thanks to the nerve pinch of Magnus.

Said man, just ruffle along a drawer, taking a bunch of things to finalize the treatment of the swollen hand, Cornelia was already frowning and glaring daggers at Euphemia but the glint and sparks of amusement of mischief on the eyes of her sister made Cornelia wonder what on earth was she thinking now.

Magnus tenderly rub a balsam over the swollen hand of Cornelia and she licked her lips in relief when the cold substance lessened the pain, along the gentle massage of Magnus, for a man so big and build like a Frame, he could be surprisingly gentle and soft. Despite the pain, Cornelia had to admit that she was enjoyed the massage, the hands of Magnus were big and strong, yet they deliver a soft and tender sensation over her skin, always preventing more damage at the time that they heal what they could.

After covering her hand in a layer of the balsam, Magnus picked up a roll of bandages and proceed to bandage the injured hand; meanwhile the sisters keep their staring duel, much to his amusement, but this time it was not the usual "I told you so" smug expression that they used when they caught the other with the hand in the cookie jar.

Euphemia was looking at her sister with an amused smirk and a spark of mischief in her eyes that made Magnus shudder, on the other hand Cornelia was still huffing at her but keeping a "what?" expression in her eyes.

Ending the bandaging, Magnus let Cornelias hand go, and store the rest of the balsam and the bandages back in their places, switching off the lamp that he used for the examination.

"Lass, I understand that you are stressed out by the last days" sighed Magnus looking at her with serious eyes "but broking your hand against a training dummy is not the solution, next time you need to vent some steam, call me and I would gladly spar with you, but promise me you are not going to do nothing like this again".

With a faint pink in her cheeks, Cornelia just huffed but nodded to the words of Magnus.

"That's good then" smiled Magnus and raise from the chair " something else you need my dear Princesses?" smirked the man, returning to his desk and the paperwork on it.

"No, that would be all" smiled back Euphemia, exiting the room after her sister " good night Magnus".

"Good night, lass".

Once the two women were in the hall outside of the medical room, Cornelia keep walking at the front of the two, softly rubbing her bandaged wrist, a lot of things could be said about the man, but he was really the best medic she had ever meet.

"Honestly sis, I would have never expected this from you" suddenly smiled Euphemia to Cornelia, who simply glared back at her and huffed in annoyance.

"You know, I never would have guessed that you had a crush on our Honorary Brittanian medic".

Cornelia just froze in the middle of the hall, turn her head to glare her sister and with a wider blush, just stuttered a lot of denials and questions about what the hell was she saying.

Euphemia just raised and eyebrow and deadpanned at her sister.

"Cornelia, you are stuttering".

The facepalm of Cornelia, with her non-injured hand; could be hear even from the medic ward, were Magnus was back at his mead, and keeping meditating about how on earth was going he managed to convince Lelouch to awoke his sister.


End file.
